Kettering Conference Centre, a leisure complex and venue long used by major UK esports and gaming LAN party EPIC.LAN, has unexpectedly announced it is shutting down on May 31st.
EPIC.LAN organisers announced on social media that efforts are being made to find an alternative venue as soon as possible, in time for EPIC.LAN’s 39th iteration, which is set to take place between July 20th-23rd 2023.
The venue in Kettering, England, houses a leisure complex which includes a theatre, health club and a conference venue. The venue announced on its website that it will be shutting its doors due to a ‘challenging operating environment’, meaning EPIC.LAN will need to relocate its EPIC39 event in July.
EPIC.LAN is a UK-based event organiser best known for its long-running series of LAN parties. The events see tournaments hosted in titles such as VALORANT, Rainbow Six: Siege and CS:GO. Alongside esports tournaments, EPIC.LAN hosts numerous other fan activations and community tournaments.
EPIC’s LANs are sponsored by major hardware and gaming brands, such as Intel and Overclockers UK, and attract thousands of visitors.
The Kettering Conference Centre has been the home for EPIC.LAN’s events for a decade.
Jon Winkle, EPIC.LAN’s Managing Director, said on social media that the company plans to provide more formal updates regarding the state of the event once the team has gotten the chance to process the closure.
Winkle made a call for assistance with finding possible new venues in the Midlands region of the UK.
In a statement on social media, EPIC.LAN said: “We have just been made aware of the sad news of KCC closing end of May. Our sympathies go to the team there who we’ve enjoyed the last 10 yrs with and wish them well in the future. We are assessing options for EPIC39 and will communicate details as soon as we have them.
It comes after Winkle revealed that a company van had been broken into and stripped for parts in February, costing the company thousands. A subsequent community fundraiser raised £3,429 for the company.
Although the Kettering Centre hosted numerous events in its 10 years of existence, the upcoming closure is due to rising costs of operation. In a letter to members of its different venues, the Centre noted that the management has “explored all possible alternatives” to keep itself afloat, and that “the venues are not financially viable and cannot continue to operate.”
