The owner of Blackpool live music venue Galleon has announced plans to open a new city centre arcade bar, inspired by NQ64 in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.

Stephen Pierre plans to open the Hidden Quest Arcade Bar in the former Brighthouse store on Abingdon Street, to capitalise on a rapidly growing student population.

“A key thing that is happening in Blackpool is the imminent opening of the Multiversity in 2027, when 3,000 students will be right in the town centre,” Pierre told the Gazette. “This will be a major transformation and will have knock-on effects for shops, bars, restaurants and the local arts scene.”

“It will create a wider demographic and they will be looking for different kinds of places to meet and hang out.”

The proposed arcade will sit above a gallery venue on the ground floor run in partnership with local artists Robin Ross and Andre Arenko, and is estimated to be open within two years.

“The new place will need a licensing application and possibly a planning application, as well as all the physical work, so it’s too early to put an exact date to things yet.”

“Hopefully it can be ready to open by 2028, if everything works out.”