From now on, looks like it's just going to be "Spinnaker ... every day and night ..."

Story originally at
http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/1141492.html


The world's largest nightclub is going the way of the rest of the beach. Club La Vela is making way for a 982-unit condominium, but that doesn't mean the end of the spring break mecca.

Profits have been down 20 percent in the past two years for the world's largest nightclub. Now after 21 years of entertaining thousands of people every spring break, Club La Vela is cashing in on its valuable beachfront property.

"Club La Vela will remain open throughout spring break 2005. The creators of Club La Vela already have plans underway for a tremendous new nightclub to be ready for business sometime next year," says Thorsten Pfeffer, Club La Vela owner.

Pfeffer has been looking at new locations on Front Beach and Back Beach Roads, but has not made a finally decision. La Vela was sold to a Destin and St. Petersburg development groups. They plan to build a 982-unit, all-inclusive resort called Aquatica on the beachfront property. The news makes La Vela's neighbors very happy, but for very different reasons.

"Our walls would shake, and even though the police were wonderful anytime we called them, It was just a constant nuisance every single night," says Linda Killingsworth, who lives next to La Vela.

"It's been a duel between us for the last 10 to 15 years, Spinnaker, La Vela and so on. Being the last ones standing, you can't be anything but excited about that," says Vaun Cook, Spinnaker manager.

Cook says Spinnaker's owner has no intention on selling. Club La Vela will close its doors April 2005. A new location should be open by next year.

Yep. They made the announcement today. They will stay open through April 5th and plan to have a NEW Club La Vela open sometime next year.

They aren't disclosing the new location, but we understand they own property between Super Wal Mart and Dirty Dicks.

Last year we saw blueprints for the new CLV (they may or may not have changed by now)... but the design we saw was octagon-shaped with all theme rooms facing the epicenter of the club: an elaborate, over-the-top pool and pool deck inspired by nightclubs in Miami.

Now that they've made the official announcement, we'll see what else we can find out and post it here for ya...

Can you show the blueprints?

I'm guessing that the blueprints remain very confidential. And on top of that, very subject to change. Clubs in cities like Miami and Las Vegas are evolving so fast, that nothing would or should be firm to the La Vela owners until the minute they break ground.

My opinion? The new La Vela sounds like it could be the first landmark that puts Panama City Beach on the map to being a world class destination. You need it all: Nice condos and hotels, fine dining, great recreational activities, good weather (helps), and excellent nightlife.

I project (and hold me to this) that the fine dining explosion in PCB is 18-24 months away. Tops. Condos and resorts are already happening. The recreation has really always been there, as has been the weather.

With the newer look of Spinnaker and an new, very upscale La Vela ... the sky is the limit.

Speaking of, it is 9 PM on a Friday night and I'm out to hit some of the best clubs in Vegas. But I'll be down to check out the new La Vela when it opens. That's for sure!

They need to finish the construction for extra roads near bridge before we get put on the map. A 10minute drive off season is a 1-2hour drive during the spring/summer fling. Traffic aside, I like how the city is progressing.

Remember this nonsense!!! 4 years later and the club is still open, charging people $20 to get in. I knew it wasn't going anywhere. It's good money. Wouldn't make sense to close it.

Refer to my post in the other thread you mentioned this in today.

I totally remember this thread and I think someone even potsed where it was supposed to be located and all the changes they were going to make to it

I confess to jumping the gun. The condo downturn combined with the delays in getting the new airport underway had an impact on future growth.

It will be interesting to see what (if any) the Joe Francis ordeal will have in the future on the jet set ever visiting. No fun to bring your plane down, only to have coke planted on it and the plane confiscated.

The very high end traveler that is so valuable to any tourism destination (they spend as much in one visit as 100 other people do) is the very person who was keeping the closest eye on the Joe Francis saga.

wow! This was my first time at Lavela and i had a blast!

I hope we will have another superclub close to spinnaker with the same ****s in the afternoon. (bikini, wet-tshirt, party..)

ChRiS....note that the original thread is from 2004 ! , maybe there's nothing to worry about for now.

Just curious......Is Lavela even the largest nightclub in the united states still?? Seems to me there there has to be somewhere else like Vegas that is larger. When did Lavela actually gain that distinction of largest night club in the united states?

Read the thread, its not going anywhere.

That is a good question. I'll bet you would have to go straight to the source to get a straight answer though.

PURE at Caesars (Las Vegas) is around 36,000 sq. ft. with about 1/3 of that being outdoors. (Some note the club as being 40,000 sq. ft. but I'm using the conservative numbers).

The capacity is officially 2400 people. Ya... cough... uh-huh. No one from the fire department is up at 2 AM checking. Side Note: The IRS did check in on PURE, but that is another (ongoing) story.

If PURE thought they were getting dissed by La Vela (with the "biggest nightclub" claim), they'd fly a bunch of attorneys down just like Joe Francis did.

Both cities and both clubs are separate experiences, each of which someone should do in their life:

Nothing like La Vela anywhere in the U.S. Neither is there anything like some Vegas clubs.

Bottom Line: Simply enjoy the great clubs in the city you visit!