Running Weekly Teenage Disco Cost

hardcoreaaron

There is a vacant nightclub in a town near me and my friend and I were talking about opening it as a weekly teenage disco.

I don't know the cost of running such an event (insurance etc). Does anyone know what we would need to consider.

Would it be public liability insurance we would need? The venue would be opening from 9pm to 12.30am on a friday night. Would we need a license of some sort?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

RATM

Your questions are best answered by the nightclub owner but in short you'd need a dance license, you get them from the District Court 4 weeks in advance of the night. The owner should have public liability insurance but may not if the place has been lying vacant for a good bit. And probably not really worth their while taking out a new policy for a few teenage discos as profits wouldn't justify it I suspect. That said he might still have a policy in place which is now losing him money as the club lies vacant, you won't know till you ask.

hardcoreaaron

How much is the dance license?

RATM

€150 will get you a dance license for a month.
http://www.courts.ie/courts.ie/library3.nsf/pagecurrent/380455CBD85B0A01802576D9005E97CD?opendocument&l=en#part_4

You would need to reassure the local superintendent that you're a person of good standing. He might also have concerns about teens showing up drunk and would want to know what you'd do in that situation, i.e. let them in to keep them out of harms way (hopefully!) or refuse them, thus making the Guards job more difficult if the streets are full of drunken teens.

But as mentioned if the club is already fully closed then it is unlikely the owner has public liability and that runs into thousands for nightclubs plus the fire certs that need to be supplied too. Finally a vacant club will be under a wad of dust and would need to be cleaned entirely- not a small job.

You'd be better off finding a club that is currently operating at weekends and approach them to host such a teen disco on a Wed/Thurs. They would have to have confidence in you personally that you can promote the night either via Facebook or postering / advertising locally. If you're not getting at least 500 people in the door then it might not be worth their while opening.

Do a deal for the door money minus the cost of bouncers & DJ. Be aware that teen discos can be a ripe ground for settling old schoolyard scores, especially between rival local schools and even more so if there is a lot of drunkenness- you could actually expect more fights at a teen disco than an over 21's so be aware of security. The club will most likely not let you any slice of bar profits but they would be miniscule at a teen disco in any case. They'll also be taking the cloakroom money too.

Overall it is something you can make a couple of quid on but won't make you a fortune. You'd need it to be a weekly event rather than a one off summer special. If you want to cut your teeth as a club promoter then it would be great experience for moving on to bigger things.

haulagebasher

Niteclubs make most of their money from drink. To make up for this you'll have to charge hefty door fees, which in turn will hugely cut the numbers who will decide to come along. What are you going to do regarding child protection?Whats more, being minors, all your staff would have to be garda vetted to make sure they are not a danger to minors.
If you are using the club's regular staff, they would have to be vetted too. That includeds anyone who could potentiall come into contact with the teeny boppers such as cloakroom staff, barstaff, YOU, security etc. A regular club most likely will not agree to this cos its hassle. If you are going it alone, it is a significant cost to need to account for. As yerman said, teenage discos are often far more indulgent, unpredictable and dangerous places than adult clubs due to immature young males and sometimes girls. You need to be aware of this and have adequate measure put in place to be able to deal with any situation that could potentially develop. Anything to do with minors is a minefield in the dark and the ramifications of a slip up are grave.
A measure you might consider is to have your security screen incoming patrons and any young males who give any, even the most minute, indication of being potentially antisocial should be refused entry and barred as a preventative measure. Another thing, becasue they are minors it is likely that you will have to diable the CCTV as it is illegal to record an image of a minor without consent of a legal guardian. On the other hand you will need CCTV to protect yourself and your staff from potentially allegations. Perhaps you could look into getting legal advice with regard to putting a system in place whereby guardians will have to sign a declaration granting permission for the use of CCTV. You would make the forms freely available, the teens take them and get mammy or daddy or a legal guardian to read and sign and then present the form to the doorstaff. No signed form, no entry. This list is non exhaustive and as I said anything to do with minors is a court case waiting to happen.