Mike Ashley’s ownership of the Overgate Centre might be the rising tide which lifts all boats.
Dundee city centre badly needs a major boost and Ashley’s purchase of the Overgate may give it the fillip it requires.
Town centres everywhere are under pressure from online shopping and out of town retail parks, but there’s nothing to beat a bustling central location as the thrumming heart of a city.
Dundee was once a booming hub of cinemas, and dance halls, with the city boasting more of both per head of population than anywhere else in the UK.
Dundee was once a thriving nightspot
There was truth in those claims; at the height of the silver screen boom there were 25 picture houses in the city, more per skull than anywhere else in the country.
The jewel in the crown was the Green’s Playhouse.
The magnificent iconic art deco building in Nethergate opened in 1936 and the auditorium could hold more than 2,500 people in the stalls and 1,500 in the circle areas.
That made it the second largest cinema in Europe at the time with Glasgow Green’s Playhouse seating just 100 more patrons.
A similar boast was made for the great number of dance halls in the city with the Palais in Tay Street attracting top big bands of the time, but you get the general picture.
The city once offered a teeming nightlife experience both on feet and on seat.
And crucially in light of the Overgate takeover, it also once boasted a shopping experience which made it unnecessary to board a bus or train to Glasgow or Edinburgh.
Our own great department stores like Draffens and DM Brown’s and others could compete with anything they had to offer.
Recently I saw a picture of a bustling Reform Street in its prime.
It wasn’t that long ago since Tayside House still loomed in the distance.
The street is now a shadow of its former glory when it boasted premium stores like Caird’s and Jaeger.
But if Ashley has vision and ambition for the Overgate centre it could spark a new wave of confidence in the city and attract new retailers keen to cash in on the potential boom.
Journalistic colleagues in Glasgow have often expressed admiration for the many small independent retail outfits which trade in the centre of Dundee, and it would give a huge boost to smaller shopkeepers if Ashley’s acquisition leads to a revival for the city’s retail future.
The potential re emergence of the Overgate as a top destination for shopping footfall can only be a good thing for everyone in the sector.
There’s also previously been talk of new cinemas in the city centre which once housed those numerous big screens, but is currently without a single one.
The possibility of a reinvigorated Overgate centre featuring up to six screens could change that overnight and bring a throng into the town centre which is often like a ghost town at nights, but could be resuscitated with a new beating heart of entertainment.
And if there’s the possibility of adding bars and restaurants and perhaps bowling lanes and all round leisure attractions for families it could become a major and inviting evening destination for all ages.
Ashley takeover could just be the start Dundee needs
Ashley’s plans are currently unknown but there’s a great opportunity to house some premium stores and retailers which would restore some of the centre’s lost sparkle.
It could also attract those who currently decant to Edinburgh or Glasgow where there’s a wider choice for discerning customers.
I’ve said here before that Dundee needs a new concert hall with the capacity to attract top acts which currently gravitate to Glasgow or Aberdeen.
I’m no architect and it might make the purists faint, but I wonder about the feasibility of keeping the magnificent facade of the Caird Hall, but building a new modern venue, fit for the years ahead, building right through the current structure and out into Shore Terrace and beyond.
It strikes me that there’s plenty of room to extend, and a vibrant downtown site smack in the middle of the city, close to bus and rail links would be an enormous boost.
The hall is part of Dundee history and traditionally the 3300 capacity could attract the very top acts like the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Elton John, and dozens of others.
But the world has moved on and with its current capacity of just over 2300 it’s unable to lure the kind of performers other cities with much more modern venues can host,
As the old song goes, ‘You may say that I’m a dreamer’, and you’d be right.
But with bold vision I’d like to see us think big and create a twenty first century venue which could draw the best in the business.
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