A new darts, pool and snooker hall could be opened next to the Odeon cinema in Dundee before the end of the year.
The games centre, in the former Battlefield Live laser tag and paintball unit at the leisure park on Douglasfield Road, has been given approval by council planners.
Publican Mark McGurty, who is behind the plans for the 170-capacity venue, says he hopes to launch the business within months.
He said: “It’s been a long time of waiting – because of Covid it’s taken that bit longer to go ahead.
“We’ve had to put in the full planning application which has been accepted, so now we’re waiting for the next step which is the licensing board.
“I don’t anticipate any problems there either.”
What will the centre offer?
The hall – which will open until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays – will host various competitions throughout the year, as well as selling food and drink.
Mr McGurty, 47 – who runs the Barrels and the High Corner pubs in the Hilltown – said: “It’s a site that I’ve been after for some years.
“It’s like everything, it’s a gamble, but there are only three snooker halls in Dundee and nothing up that end of the city. I think there should be a great footfall.
“I think we could get people before and after visiting the bingo and the Odeon, going for a few drinks and then the option of a game of pool as well.
“It’s snooker, pool, darts – whatever the person visiting wants, and we’re also going to be doing takeaway food, so things like crepes and milkshakes.”
Previous plans for Hilltown Indoor Market
Mr McGurty had previously planned a similar venture at the former Hilltown Indoor Market, but that idea was scrapped when the building was destroyed in a fire in 2018.
He added: “We’ll be looking to sign the contract with the landlord in the next two to three weeks. Once we do that we can start the undertaking works.
“I’d hope we could be open for the turn of the year. If it’s sooner that would be fantastic, but we’ll see how quickly the builders progress.
“The building is in good condition. We’ll take it back to a shell and then take it from there.
“So there’s us, the Odeon, the bingo, the gym. It’s just a case of hoping that people use the facilities, and I think they will.”
The venture has been given the go-ahead just weeks after a leisure park was given the green light for the old Hilltown market site.
It includes proposals for a bowling alley, soft play area, indoor golf, bar and restaurant.