AT £4m this floating bubble club inspired by ex-Newcastle star Jermaine Jenas is so crazy it might just work.
Just months after Tyneside said goodbye to flagship floating destination the Tuxedo Princess, a return to socialising on the Tyne is being proposed by a Gateshead entrepreneur.
Restaurateur Parviz Alizadeh’s suggestion is conference centre-cum-private members’ club ‘The Bubble on the Tyne’.
The owner of La Riviera, on Gateshead’s quayside, has already spent £12,000 patenting designs for the floating palace he believes could follow in the footsteps of the Millenium Bridge and Sage Gateshead to become the region’s next icon.
Offering tourism, conferencing and educational facilities by day, the bar/bistro would serve as a private club in the evenings. With a glass roof, Ali believes it would be the perfect spot for the ‘who’s who’ of the region to be seen without being disturbed.
With architects already signed up, Ali is now looking for sponsorship to take the project to the next stage. And if he can’t find the support in the North East, the 50-year-old businessman is confident buyers in Monte Carlo and Dubai will welcome his idea.
Speaking about his proposed multifunctional space, Mr Zadeh said: “The plan is to moor it next to La Riviera. There will be two tunnels. One going in and one coming out. I want it to be like a lounge and a bar inside. It will be designed so people can see fish swimming below their feet, and it will have a retractable roof.
“It’s like what Jermaine Jenas said about the goldfish bowl. It will be exclusive to get in to, but everyone will see.
“I think it’s so crazy it will work. And every single part would be made in the North East.”
Even at this early stage The Port of Tyne has hinted it may oppose any firm proposals for the bubble if it failed to meet strict safety and conservation criteria.
A spokesperson said: “We look to give consent, where we can, to all facilities on or in the immediate surroundings of the River.
“However we cannot disregard our principal duty, which is for the safety and conservation of Navigation. If anything were planned that may reduce that safety or impinge on that right, we would be duty bound to raise our concerns.”
Midfielder Jermaine Jenas, now at Tottenham, quit St James’s Park in 2005, claiming the close proximity of supporters to the club made life on Tyneside like living in a goldfish bowl.
Published in the Evening Chronicle 27/02/09