BRANDON, FL (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — For a country nightclub that doesn’t host national acts, Brandon, Florida’s Dallas Bull sure seems to have broken the rules when the 700-capacity venue was packed full for Brad Paisley’s album launch for his new CD “Time Well Wasted.”
The singer put on an intimate acoustic show for his fans, who lined up for miles to get into the small club.
“It was a no-brainer for us,” Lewis Surratt Jr., the Bull’s co-owner and president told the St. Petersburg Times. “We had people waiting in line at 6 o’clock this morning.”
Having also seen the likes of Brooks & Dunn, Big & Rich and Rascal Flatts in recent years, the owners are finally giving in to the legendary club’s drawing power, and building a new facility to house it’s honky-tonk shows and country dance nights.
The giant barnlike structure will more than triple the old venue’s capacity, and nearly quadruple its usable floor space, making it one of the largest country nightclubs in the Southeast. The facility will include a package store, a western wear shop, a banquet room, and a bigger stage, complete with a spacious lounge and dressing room with private shower.
The finished product will open in February, with a total capacity of 2,200 and a cost of more than $5 million.
“It’s grown a little bit from what it started as,” Surratt told the paper. “But I still wonder from time to time: Is it big enough?”
The recent noise-dispute battles at the nearby Ford Amphitheatre, and tightened fire code regulations in the wake of the Station nightclub fire, forced the Bull’s owners to push the opening date from November to February, in order to address all concerns.
The Bull’s owners are planning a grand opening in February, featuring artists that might not sell out the Ford Amphitheatre or the St. Petersburg Times Forum, but could pack the mid-size club.
“We’ll call it country music’s Field of Dreams, I guess,” Stirratt told the paper. “If you build it, they will come.” –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
