The New Picture House Cinema in St Andrews, Scotland is set to be transformed into a luxury sports bar by T-Squared Social, a company co-owned by Justin Timberlake and Tiger Woods and Nexus Luxury Collection, a real estate company. The bar will include sports simulators, duckpin bowling and darts whilst retaining two cinema screens. Around 40-45 jobs will be created as a result of the refurbishment. Fife Council confirmed that the developments will “protect and enhance the character and appearance of the conservation area.”
According to planning documents, the cinema’s owners had stated that they would need to close the New Picture Hotel if they couldn’t make the changes to the site, because the cinema was operating at less than 10% occupancy and was no longer sustainable. The project aims to offer locals a wider range of cinema, dining, and entertainment.
The cinema first opened in 1930, and although certain features of the building such as the walls, ceilings, and stage will be retained, the project’s terms of approval require work to commence within the next three years. Woods revealed that the idea for the sports bar was conceived while he was playing golf with Timberlake in the Bahamas, while Timberlake had previously played at St Andrews during the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Nexus’ CEO and managing partner, Christopher Anand, indicated that the company is putting in measures to ensure that the historic architecture and design of the theatre is preserved. Meanwhile, the plans come on the back of Timberlake’s recent arrest for “driving while intoxicated” in New York, which occurred on June 18th, attributed to an anonymous tip-off from his Long Island hotel. Despite the offence, the former NSYNC star continues to see success in the music industry with his sixth solo album, ‘Everything I Thought It Was,’ released in March 2022
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