The four-month redevelopment programme will see the total building capacity increase to 1,150 (from the former 750) following the purchase of the adjacent retail outlet.
AMG will create three separate performance spaces for live music and club nights, with state-of-the-art facilities both front of house and backstage and full in-house production.AMG plans to rename the main venue (downstairs) Carling Academy Oxford which will have a maximum capacity of 900, though it will be flexible for alternative configurations.
The secondary venue will be the upstairs area of the building and named The Zodiac with a capacity for up to 436 persons. "The purpose of the new Zodiac marks a positive step in AMG's policy for encouraging and developing new bands and artists and giving them the opportunity to play in a professionally equipped venue, as well as offering artists an additional platform to play other slots and gigs within AMG's estate," says Carl Bathgate, general manager of Carling Academy Oxford. 'It's important that we fill this niche with a venue of this size, so we can also offer promoters upgrades to the main room, with full in-house production and various formats and configurations."
The third area will be called Bar Academy and have a capacity of 280 that can operate as a stand-alone venue, or an additional room for club nights. "In designing the building, flexibility is key to supporting music in Oxford as well as offering a must-play location at the higher end of this development for major touring acts" adds CEO John Northcote. "An entry level product of this capacity, similar to what we have elsewhere in the country, has proved an enormous success and is the right size to showcase new talent and develop new acts from the region to the touring circuit. Alongside local promoters such as TCT and AMG's own promoting division Academy Events, we are perfectly positioned to bridge this gap and encourage new music."
(Jim Evans)
