History Of Play
In November 2003 a new club opened its doors and was set to offer something special to the clubbing elite. A place that seemed like a breath of fresh air, where the smart, sexy and stylish could gather every week to socialize and listen to the coolest house music, mixed by some of the best local and national DJ’s around. A venue that looked amazing and where quickly became the place to see and be seen at each and every week. A clubbing experience where public mixed with celebrity with no boundaries all in the common cause of having a good time. The club was PLAY and this is a brief history of how it came to be………..
At the start of 2003 local businessman and entrepreneur Naz Mohammed decided that Merthyr Tydfil needed a new clubbing experience. Following his travels around the world and visiting other up market nightclubs Naz felt that his hometown needed something fresh, something to be proud of and something that would put Merthyr firmly on the clubbing map. Naz already had a solid history of businesses in South Wales. The mobile telecommunications industry had been very kind to him and he had opened nine shops throughout South Wales. After a decision to sell the shops in a private deal for an undisclosed sum Naz felt the time was now right to act on his feelings and set to work on drawing up plans for the nightclub.
As well as owning a chain of retail outlets Naz also was a keen property developer and already owned a number of properties in Merthyr Tydfil. One of the buildings that he owned was situated in a block between the High Street and Post Office Lane, part of the building he rented to Chickenland, however originally the vast upstairs area was a flat, a living dwelling that Naz lived in. At this time the building next to Chickenland was purchased by Naz and It was then decided that the whole area was large enough to convert into a club and work started as soon as the plans were drawn up and approved.
It took nine months and a half a million pound spend before Naz’s dream was complete. Naz being a true professional left no stone unturned in making the venue the very best it could be. PLAY opened its doors in November 2003 to both critical and public acclaim. Stylish, sumptuous and sexy were all terms used to describe the venue and the people flocked week in week out to party at PLAY. Naz himself was blown away by the reaction his club received and his sense of pride in raising the bar was something that filled his soul.
PLAY has been a success story and after 5 years and over a million pounds of investment is still standing strong. PLAY is already home to some of the biggest house and dance events in the UK and the world with L’america and Hed Kandi regular visitors. There are a number of changes currently going that will create a new environment and larger space inside the club. Everything now has the scope to provide bigger and better club nights to the customer and as before, all those years ago all the work that’s being done is to the highest standard possible. Naz wouldn’t have it any other way!
