Pryzm Plymouth was a chain nightclub located in Barbican Leisure Park in Plymouth, England.^[3]

Background

Pryzm Plymouth was the largest nightclub in the city of Plymouth, with a maximum capacity of 2,400 people.^[1] The club was split into 3 rooms - Vinyl, Curve, and Main Room.^[4][5] The venue also hosted events such as boxing, prom fairs, Miss England,^[5] and club nights for the University of Plymouth Students' Union.^[6]

History

The nightclub first opened under the "Destiny" name in 1999. The venue was later rebranded to Oceana in 2009.^[2] In August 2016, the club's then owners Deltic Group announced that Oceana would close and rebrand as Pryzm.^[2]

In 2020, fears of the nightclub's closure arose after its owner Deltic Group was on the brink of administration,^[7] the company blamed this on the lack of government support during the Coronavirus pandemic.^[8][9] The company was later purchased by Rekom UK in January 2021 which kept the club open.^[10]

In 2021, following concerns by students of drink spiking, the club confirmed that no confirmed cases had occurred there, they released a statement outlining their entry searches, and reassured students that staff were trained in drink spiking procedures.^[11]

Pryzm Plymouth's parent company Rekom UK announced it would close on 1 January 2024,^[12] blaming "tough trading conditions" as less students go out to clubs, and the club's location as the reason for the closure.^[1][13] The clubs final opening night was on New Year's Eve 2023.^[14][15]

Incidents

In 2017, two 19 year-olds from Okehampton died after being found unconscious during a Basshunter event in the venue.^[16] Paramedics alerted police at approximately 1:40am,^[17] and the venue was evacuated shortly after when police arrived,^[18] their deaths were found to be caused by the drug MDMA,^[19] commonly known as Ecstasy, which was purchased on the dark web.^[20][21] A 19-year-old man was arrested and jailed for 14 months for supplying the drugs.^[22][23] A number of other people who were in the group were found by paramedics on the same day and showed no signs of being unwell.^[24]

In response to the incident, the nightclub sent their condolences to the families of the men who died^[25] as well as releasing a statement addressing concerns of over-capacity, saying that the nightclub did not exceed its legal capacity during the event,^[26] and said they were adding additional staff members to its front door.^[27] Basshunter's team also released a statement, saying "Basshunter is devastated that what was a party atmosphere should end this way. He would like to offer his condolences at this very sad time".^[28]

References