£17m redevelopment aimed at making Odyssey ‘biggest leisure attraction in Ireland’

A £17m redevelopment of The Odyssey in Belfast aims to make it “by far the biggest leisure and visitor attraction in Northern Ireland”.As part of the project Rockies Bar, a favourite of fans of ice hockey team Belfast Giants, closed in June and Pizza Hut is expected to shut just before Christmas.However, the UK’s largest cinema chain Cineworld and bowling operator Hollywood Bowl will move in to replace the current operators of the cinema and bowling alley.They are the first anchor tenants to confirm their position in what used to be called the Odyssey Pavilion.The SSE Arena beside The Odyssey is unaffected by the redevelopment project.Work will begin at the end of this month, bringing 80 construction jobs, and is expected to be completed in spring 2021.Matagorda 2, which acquired the Belfast complex three years ago, hopes to fill 14 more units, including nine restaurants and one bar as well two or three leisure facilities.The existing mezzanine level will be removed and rebuilt to accommodate the new units.The Odyssey will partially close in early January 2020 once the site set-up works are completed, but the cinema, bowling alley and W5 will remain open with new temporary access points being provided.Guy Hollis, consultant for Matagorda 2, said Cineworld and Hollywood Bowl could see the “huge potential”.W5’s previously announced £4.5m investment will also take place at the same time as the main works at the venue.Both men stressed that the complex would be a “family destination” with no plans to reopen nightclubs such as Box and the Beach Club, which were once located there.The Odyssey opened in 2000, a project led by businessman Peter Curistan, and was 50% funded by a £45m grant from the Millennium Commission.