Wolverhampton Civic Hall to shut as £10m revamp begins
The Civic Hall will host a final event on December 21 before closing for a £10 million overhaul in the new year.
A Night With Ricky Hatton will be the last show with staff moving out of the Civic and Wulfrun by January 4.
Work will then get under way to increase the capacity for each venue as well as creating new bars and toilets.
They will be able to cater for a combined total of 5,000 people once the work – scheduled to take about 18 months – is done.
The main Civic Hall will be given a second balcony – increasing capacity by 600, while the Wulfrun will also get a balcony to boost its capacity by 200.
Access for disabled visitors will also be upgraded.
There will be a phased reopening of the venues and it has already been confirmed they will temporarily reopen for the Grand Slam of Darts next November.
The final three events of this year include Ned's Atomic Dustbin present KYTV Festival on December 19 and a concert by Punjabi Folk artist Hans Raj Hans on December 20 before the Ricky Hatton show.
Events will continue to be held at The Slade Rooms while the Civic halls are closed.
Wolverhampton councillor John Reynolds said: "The refurbishment of the Civic Halls will open up further opportunities for hosting conferences and putting on bigger and more diverse shows, as well as diversifying into new areas, such as business conferencing. There is huge potential for attracting new audiences from across the UK to live events and music, festivals, the arts, culture and night life.
He added: "The improved facilities will attract even more visitors to Wolverhampton city centre and the wider sub-region resulting in the creation of more jobs in the local economy."
Legendary bands and artists including Blur, Robert Plant, The Specials and Radiohead have performed at the Civic Halls in recent years, while the venue has hosted acts such as Oasis, AC/DC and The Who in the past.
Bosses have said they hope that increasing the size of the stages at both venues will enable them to accommodate bigger productions and tours which the venues cannot currently attract.
The refurbishment project will be funded by £6.2 million from the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Deal and £4.2 million from Wolverhampton City Council.
