A Darlington nightclub is to reopen this weekend under new ownership, with plans to bring big name DJs and themed events to the town centre.
Ignite Nightclub, on Skinnergate, will reopen on Friday, September 4, with UK dance music DJ and producer Nathan Dawe set to headline its launch night.
The venue has stood empty since its closure in November 2024.
New operators, Club Ignite Leisure Limited, said they wanted to bring a “quality night out” back to Darlington, with regular headline DJs, themed events and a renewed focus on service and customer experience.
Ignite previously operated at the site for more than three years after taking over the former Institute Nightclub in July 2021.
The venue has a long history as part of Darlington’s nightlife, having also been home to The Keys, Filibuster and Firkin, and Flares and Retro.
A spokesperson for the new operators said they were new to the Darlington venue but had previous experience of running nightclubs.
They said: “Ignite has been closed for some time, but when we went in to see it, we fell in love with the place straight away. It matches exactly what we want to be doing for Darlington.”
The operators said they believed the town’s nightlife scene was improving and hoped Ignite would give people another reason to spend their evenings in the town centre.
They said: “We have noticed that the nightclub scene has got smaller, but it seems to be getting a lot better now. There are more people coming into the town, and we wanted to bring something different as well.
“We want to bring good name DJs in at least once a month, and the focus will mainly be on a house and dance nightclub. We are hoping it will be a fantastic way to relaunch the venue and bring a real buzz back into the town centre.”
Nathan Dawe is known for chart hits including Flowers, 21 Reasons and Lighter.
The relaunched venue will include two rooms, with the main space retaining the Ignite name and a smaller, more relaxed room called Spark.
The spokesperson said: “Spark will be a bit more laid back and will probably open earlier than Ignite. Once that reaches a certain capacity, we will open the doors into Ignite.
“Our logic is that people go from Spark to Ignite. It is something we came up with, but it also builds the atmosphere because you need people there to create that feeling.”
- Tickets for the launch night with Nathan Dawe are available via Ticket Tailor.
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Ignite will initially open from Thursday to Sunday, with midweek opening hours to be trialled in response to demand.
The operators also hope to revive MonGay on Mondays, alongside potential rock, Mardi Gras and other themed events.
They added: “Our aim is to add something positive to Darlington’s night time economy, give people more reasons to stay and go out in the town, and hopefully attract people from further afield too.”
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