Popular Walsall nightclub to undergo revamp and name change - creating new jobs
A nightclub in Walsall which has seen thousands of revellers come though its doors over the past 13 years will close for the final time on Saturday to make way for a brand new venture bringing new jobs.
WS1 nightclub will undergo a massive revamp and reopen under the new name of Religion on April 2.
The scheme will create around 25 jobs - more than doubling the current workforce at the venue in Bridge Street.
Among the improvements being carried out, the new-look club will boast bigger rooms, a new sound system and video walls.
Bosses say they also have special guests lined up for the launch night and intend to give the club a good send off on the last night.
General manger Nick Parkinson said: "We are looking to rejuvenate the nigh time economy in Walsall and it will also be creating about 25 jobs.
"We have 23 staff so it is more than doubling the workforce.
"Nightclubs have a shelf life and it is a relatively old club. We've been here 13 years. Now is the time to make it more modern.
"We are spending an awful lot of money on this.
"We are having new sound systems, video walls and a terrace three times as big.
"There's massive structural changes to the building as well."
He said the nightclub would also get a new look with rooms being made larger by knocking walls through and roofs have also been taken off.
The venue, which will remain under the same ownership, will host a closing down party on Saturday when former DJs will be invited back.
Mr Parkinson said: "We are hosting a reunion for our loyal customers, staff and DJs. We are going to have a good knees up.
"We have a lot of memories we hang on to but it's exciting to be at the start of something new."
Religion will launch at the site, with special guests including Nottingham DJ Philip George, who is best known for his 2014 single, Wish You Were Mine, which peaked to number two on the UK singles chart.
Mr Parkinson added: "It will be amazing to open with a massive headliner. Stuff like this doesn't happen in Walsall."
The club wants to hear from anyone who has DJ'd at the club in the past and would like to take part in the closing down party.
For more information, call 01922 644242.
