Ipswich Jets Leagues Club success is built on listening to patron and members.
The club is celebrating the finish of a $1.3 million refurbishment.
Ipswich Jets Leagues Club general manager Teresa Cavill-Jones (pictured) thinks it’s important to stay fresh.
“We just listen to our patrons and our members. We find out what they want and I will take that on board. You have to keep reinventing yourself or else you get left behind,” she said.
“We wanted to keep with what is happening around Ipswich. We looked at all the latest trends in various venues. So we have added a lot of light and greenery,” Ms Cavill-Jones said.
“Our heritage is important to us and we wanted to keep that theme going instead of working against it which is what has happened over the years.
“We have these great big windows, so we removed the tint and we will open them in summer time.”
“We wanted to create a space with live entertainment. We were hearing from our customers that there is nowhere in Ipswich for our age group (middle aged) to go for a glass of wine and listen to some music, that is what we are aiming for,” Ms Cavill-Jones said.
“Another unique feature of the club is that we offer wine on tap.”
“It is very spacious and bright which we thought it was a point of difference for us compared to other gaming rooms,” Ms Cavill-Jones said.
The club plan to freshen up the dining area next.
“It’s just a start for us,” Ms Cavill-Jones said.
Ipswich Jets Leagues Club is on the corner of Lowry Street and Downs Street. The original building has stood in that spot since 1887. Back then it was the Imperial Hotel. In the 1890s the number of hotels in an area was limited by legislation and as a result the Imperial lost its licence in 1891.
The hotel reopened in 1904 as Hotel Cecil. It was extended in 1915 and in 1992 it was extensively renovated. It has been extended several times since and in 1998 it became the Ipswich Jets Leagues Club.
The lead light ceiling in the centre of the club features local pictures from years gone by. There is an original horse hitching point on the outside of the club and some say there is a friendly ghost “Hubert” who roams the top floor of the club.
