Perched at the top of Leichardt Street, Spring Hill, sits a seemingly old school bar, known as The Sportsman Hotel. Walking in off the street into the “butch bar” it has often been a surprise to many that “Sporties” is one of the few LGBT venues in Brisbane. The process begun with a broad brief to completely overhaul each level and design an additional DOSA in the drive way lane in the back. The scope was quickly reduced so Inaspace could hone in on each bar, injecting them with new life.

The new brief included modernizing the old school “butch bar”, turning the bistro into a showroom for the captivating drag shows and transforming the old ‘mineshaft’ basement bar into “Nellies” – a new school industrial style bar.

Demolition revealed several hidden layers including bricks to the cold room and the mosaic floor tiles in the basement. Instead of covering them back up with selected finishes, it was quickly decided to keep the original materials exposed and celebrate the character of the building and prove that old is the new again. The bricks now provide a complimentary background for the new copper pipe feature to the back of the bar which is now a talking point among patrons.

The second stage was a collaborative effort between the designers and the owner/manager Neil McLucas, who took on more of a project manager role as well as making design decisions for the other side of the basement which is often occupied by local LGBT clubs. Dark and dull throughout, lighting was a key problem that Inaspace resolved, ensuring there is flexibility for various events and functions that the hotel hosts, as well as carefully selecting feature lighting to create personality in each space.

The Sportsman Hotel is proof that it pays to continue to evolve and update your venue – they’ve seen an instant increase in profits and the hotel is already focused on making future design improvements in other areas, to offer their patrons the best experience possible.