Lakeside Leisure Complex

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The Lakeside Leisure Complex is a hotel, conferencing, entertainment and associated leisure complex in Frimley Green in west Surrey, England. It hosted the open/men's and women's BDO World Darts Championship every January from 1986 to 2019. [1]

Contents

History

Bob Potter OBE in 2017 Bob Potter OBE 2017.jpg
Bob Potter OBE in 2017

The complex was established in 1972, when Bob Potter bought Wharfenden House and the surrounding grounds and lake. [2] He soon doubled the hall to 1,000 seats principally for hosting comedians and musicians, including North American and internationally acclaimed acts. Lakeside was almost completely destroyed in a fire in November 1978, [3] but was subsequently rebuilt, reopening in October the following year. [4]

During the 25th year of hosting the World Darts Championship, in 2010 the lake had largely iced over by 7 January. That day the body of a man, a hotel guest for the competition week, was found. [5] Landowner-managers, Bob Potter Leisure Limited, were fined £85,000 for health and safety violations. [6]

Bob Potter died on 14 April 2023, at the age of 94. [7]

Events

The Lakeside became the venue of the World Darts Championship in 1986, [8] [9] The Club sponsored the event from 2004 to 2019. It has hosted the new WDF World Darts Championship since 2022. [10]

The venue has hosted acts such as Tommy Cooper, Morecambe and Wise, Sammy Davis Jr, Frankie Vaughan and Bob Monkhouse. [11] [12]

The 'Small Business Bureau Conference', held in 1987, was claimed by the organisers to be the largest business conference in Europe. [13]

Facilities

Grand venue

The largest venue is the Main Cabaret Suite which has a capacity of 1,170 with conference and banqueting facilities.

Others

It is a mixed members' club, hotel and selection of restaurants with snooker, pool, darts, ten-pin bowling, squash, bars, an events nightclub and well-equipped gym. Near the village, boats can be hired for day trips along the Basingstoke Canal. The borough and adjoining Wentworth/Sunningdale area has a number of golf courses.

Heyday as a club

Darts commentator and personality Sid Waddell looked back on the early darts era when Lakeside was "arguably the best club in Britain":

Tom Jones, Jim Davidson and other stars packed the joint, while Margaret Thatcher herself said it was one of her favourite places for Tory jollies." [14]

Potter claimed that he and his facilities inspired Peter Kay's comedic business saga Phoenix Nights , whose character is named Brian Potter. [15]

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References

  1. ↑ "Lakeside Set To Host Biggest Ever BDO World Championships". UK Darts Magazine. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "Bob Potter, king of darts who owned Lakeside, venue for decades of world championships – obituary" . The Telegraph. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "I'll rebuild - Lakeside boss". Farnborough News and Mail. No. 4241. 28 November 1978. p. 1.
  4. ↑ "Lakeside's night of the stars". Farnborough News and Mail. No. 4331. 26 October 1979. p. 26.
  5. ↑ Darts spectator found dead under ice in Surrey lake bbc.co.uk
  6. ↑ Edmondson, Nick (5 July 2013). "Company admits safety breaches over frozen lake death". GetSurrey. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Obituary – Bob Potter OBE". Darts World. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  8. ↑ "Darts". The Glasgow Herald . 4 July 1985. p. 23.
  9. ↑ "Bristow left in the dark". The Glasgow Herald. 6 November 1985. p. 22.
  10. ↑ "Darts is Coming Home! Lakeside World Championship 2022". DartsWDF. World Darts Federation. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  11. ↑ Irwin, Justin (2008). Murder on the Darts Board. Anova. pp. 4–5. ISBN   9781906032043.
  12. ↑ Rutter, Jason (September 1997). "Stand-up as interaction: Performance and Audience in Comedy Venues" (PDF). University of Saford, Institute for Social Research, Department of Sociology (PhD thesis). p. 102 (pdf p. 117).
  13. ↑ "Mrs Thatcher would always ask after our town". Hull Daily Mail. 31 January 2012. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  14. ↑ Waddell, Sid (2009). Bellies and Bullseyes: The Outrageous True Story of Darts. Random House. ISBN   9781407030449.
  15. ↑ Keogh, Frank (6 January 2004). "Phoenix flights". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 January 2014.

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