Late booze application for Fury Vs Wilder fight

Players Bar, in Durham, has applied for a special licence to screen the boxing match early on Sunday morning.

But objections from Durham Police could scupper the plans after concerns were raised about where so many people could go once the event finishes.

A letter to licensing chiefs said: “There is currently no provision within the City for the customers of this event after it finishes, the takeaways will all be closed and taxis will be very few and far between.

“This will leave up to 499 people, who have potentially been drinking all night, in the city with no obvious and accessible means of getting home all gathered in one place.

“Our concern is the noise and associated nuisance the revellers will cause as they call and wait for taxis or walk through the city in search of transport.”

The bar, the former Loveshack, in the Walkergate area of the city, already has permission to sell alcohol up to 2am every day of the week, with closing time set at 2.30am.

The ‘temporary event notice’ application has asked to extend the time allowed to serve drinks to 6am for the showing of a ‘late night sporting event’, to which ‘no more than 499 people’ will be allowed entry.

The proposal is due to be considered at a specially arranged meeting of Durham County Council’s Statutory Licensing Sub-Committee on Thursday morning.

Fury and Wilder’s fight in Las Vegas for the WBC WBC world heavyweight title is due to start at about 4am, UK time, on Sunday.

But representations from police have pointed out it could be 5am before the boxers touch gloves.

They add ‘it is impossible to say at this time how long the fight is likely to last’, estimating ‘somewhere between a minute and 45 minutes’.

While officers said they appreciated extra security measures proposed by the bar’s management team it still left concerns, particularly over how customers will get home following an event with no fixed finish time.