Event cancelled after venue is told licence won't cover it (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Event cancelled after venue is told licence won't cover it

4:20pm Sunday 5th July 2009

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A cage fighting event due to be held in Bradford has been cancelled after it emerged that the host venue did not have the correct licence to stage the explosive bouts.

The Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) contest, called Champions VI, was set to be held at the Cedar Court Hotel, off Rooley Lane at the top of the M606, on Saturday, July 11.

But the event has now been called off after Bradford Council stepped in and notified hotel bosses that the venue’s licence did not cover boxing matches, wrestling contests or similar events.

The hotel was told it would have to apply for a temporary event notice if it still wanted to stage the event.

Event organisers, who had booked one of the function rooms at the hotel, have apologised for the inconvenience the cancellation will cause to fighters, the fight team and spectators.

One of the organisers, Saif Khan, posted a message on the Cage Warriors internet forum saying: “It would appear that the Cedar Court did not have the appropriate licence which would enable them to hold MMA events.

“Unfortunately, due to this admin error coming to light at such short notice, there is no possibility of them obtaining one in time for our next event dated July 11.

“It is therefore with great regret that we are forced to cancel the event until the matter has been resolved.”

Nick Testa, the hotel’s manager, said: “This incident is unfortunate but the hotel is very strong in other areas.”

When asked if the hotel had the correct licence for MMA events, he said: “That’s debatable really. We are going to sit down with all parties concerned and decide on the best way forward.”

It was put to Mr Testa that an MMA event did not tally with the usual markets for hotels, such as weddings and business conferences.

He said: “It’s diversification of product in order to meet each market. We do quite varied events.

“The wedding market is up this year for Asian and English weddings and the reason for that is the service we provide and how skilfully we manage the different operations we run.”

He said it was vital that Cedar Court, which has undergone a £1 million refurbishment over the last four years, continued to attract new business in difficult economic times to sustain the 150 staff employed there.

MMA is a full contact combat sport that allows a wide variety of fighting techniques, from a mixture of martial arts.

Several MMA events have been held previously at the Cedar Court Hotel, with spectators paying in the region of £35 a ticket.

e-mail: will.kilner@telegraphandargus.co.uk

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