Star City (entertainment complex)

Star City has its own canal moorings

Star City is a family leisure and entertainment complex in Aston, Birmingham, England. It is located in the north east of the city very close to Junction 6 of the M6 motorway (Spaghetti Junction), and Aston railway station.[1]

Development

This former derelict industrial land was developed as part of a regeneration scheme for the Heartlands area and to change Birmingham's image for the 21st century. Its centrepiece is the 25-screen Vue cinema, at the time the largest cinema in Europe. The construction was carried out by Wolverhampton based firm Carillion.[2] The complex was formally opened in July 2000 by actors George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg to coincide with the UK premier of The Perfect Storm. With some 392,000 square feet (36,400 m2) of leisure space, it is one of the largest leisure complexes in the United Kingdom.[3]

Attractions

Star City, Birmingham, England.

A 22-lane Megabowl bowling alley was revealed when Star City opened and has remained since - however, this has now been re-branded as Tenpin. By the end of 2003, it was the largest leisure park in the country ahead of The Printworks in Manchester and The Mailbox in Birmingham city centre.[4]

A Goals soccer centre opened in 2007 with fourteen floodlit pitches situated on the roof. Goals also incorporates a Sports Bar which shows year round sporting events on both Sky and Terrestrial TV.[5]

The centre underwent a major redevelopment in 2008. England's first indoor 36 hole adventure mini golf course, 'Adventure Island Mini Golf', opened on 11 June 2008.[6]

Reflecting the community

Star City is located in Nechells where ethnic minorities make up the majority of the area's population.[7] As a result, the screening of all major Hollywood blockbusters as well as Bollywood films by Vue's theatre at the site is seen as an attraction for visitors. Entertainment for the venue is selected from all over the world with high-profile visits made by the Canadian Cirque du Soleil in 2005[8] and the Chinese State Circus in 2006 and 2008.

References

  1. ↑ Location map
  2. ↑ Case study - Star City
  3. ↑ "Clooney hits Birmingham". BBC News. 2000-07-20.
  4. ↑ Leisure And Recreation Management, page 222, George Torkildsen, 2005, Routledge (ISBN 0415309956)
  5. ↑ Goals at Star City
  6. ↑ Adventure Island Mini Golf
  7. ↑ Nechells Ward Stats
  8. ↑ BBC: Cirque du Soleil

Coordinates: 52°30′18.58″N 1°51′18.99″W / 52.5051611°N 1.8552750°W / 52.5051611; -1.8552750

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