Details of a £3m project to use the main auditorium and balcony, alongside a secondary smaller room, were unveiled by the Academy Music Group. The overall capacity will be more than 2,000.

The first date for the Carling Academy Sheffield was also announced this week – KT Tunstall will be there on April 15.

Originally opened in 1967 as the Top Rank Suite, the distinctive white clad building in Arundel Gate was last used by St Thomas' Church.

The whole entertainment complex, including the Odeon cinema and multi-storey car park, has been bought by the Cordwell Property Group and now AMG has completed the leasehold acquisition of the former Roxy.

Sheffield is one of three venues AMG is opening next year, along with the former Town and Country Club in Leeds and the Hippodrome in Brighton.

AMG's shareholders include major promoters SJM Concerts, Metropolis Music and LiveNation, which give it the muscle to attract big names.

But the company says it also wants to help smaller bands. Chief executive officer and company founder John Nortcote said: "Over the years we have build a successful model of venues with varying capacities and as a company we are totally committed to supporting new music and emerging talent.

"The roll-out of smaller rooms, with capacities of 400 to 600, in regions such as Newcastle, London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Oxford and now Sheffield, is so important to us and to the development of these artists, who need to play in professionally run, production-complete venues in the early stages of their careers."

It remains to be seen what effect a big new venue will have on existing places such as the City Hall, Octagon, Leadmill and Plug.

But Mr Northcote said: "We're looking to increase the share of the cake in Sheffield by attracting more bands to a state-of-the-art venue for people to enjoy, bands that normally bypass Sheffield."


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