Live Music at Mecca Bingo Hall

A former bingo hall could soon be the new home for live music in Swindon. Swindon County Council are undergoing debates as to whether the disused Mecca Bingo hall, which closed down in April this year after falling customer numbers and a sharp hike in the tax imposed on bingo halls, could be converted and made into a centre for live music. If the plans are given the go ahead, which is beginning to look increasingly likely, the Mecca Bingo hall will frequently play host to various musicians and bands, from all different genres of music.

It is expected, if the council agrees, that the hall be will converted and will be playing host to live music evenings within the next six months. This is a sharp turnaround for the hall, which fell into disrepair after Mecca Bingo was forced to close down its Swindon premises in April. The plans to turn it into a music hall will mean that it could soon hold up to one thousand two hundred people, a much larger capacity than it would have had when it was a bingo hall.

The closure of this Swindon Mecca Bingo hall initially brought about a debate about the building’s future, and there were even plans to have it demolished. However, having no other use for the area meant that the demolishment never happened. This hall is one of many bingo halls to have closed down in recent months and years. The fall in the popularity of bingo halls and their declining customer numbers have been brought on by a variety of factors. The advent and rising popularity of online bingo playing is one reason, as is the increased tax on bingo halls, which means that many are struggling to stay open. When bingo giants such as Mecca Bingo are closing halls down, serious issues are raised about the industry’s future. It is also hoped that old bingo halls will not fall victims of disrepair of vandalism once they are closed down, and that they may in some way continue to value the local community. Hopefully the plans for the bingo hall in Swindon will help the local industry, too.