Queenstown will once again have a dedicated sports bar from Friday with the opening of Xtreme - an "American-style" bar in the premises previously housing Ministry of Sports.
Owners of the nearby Malbas bar Tish and Dwayne Quirk "completely gutted" Ministry after they took over both the bar and the ground-floor Super Liquor store, now a Thirsty Liquor store.
The couple moved to Queenstown from Wanaka last year, turning what was previously the Wakatipu Tavern into a Queenstown location of the Malbas bar franchise.
Despite delays caused by the late arrival of a crate of furniture from the United States, everything was "well on track" to open from 4pm on Friday, Mrs Quirk said yesterday.
The new bar will feature 21 big-screen televisions and "Queenstown's biggest widescreen projector", with simultaneous coverage of different sporting events from sports channels and online streaming.
"We've now extended the side deck so it goes all the way around, completely recarpeted, redone the ceilings, the back bar and the toilets - it's a brand new bar," Mrs Quirk said.
The bar features a room filled with couches, suitable for private functions, a couch and coffee table area and plenty of "bar stools and leaning room".
Its first big event will be Saturday's Nick Diaz v Carlos Condit Ultimate Fighting Championship match-up, followed by Super Bowl coverage on Monday.
