Festival committee member Kylie Fowler confirmed yesterday demolition of the hotel would start after Easter weekend and was expected to take four weeks to complete.
The committee was focused on organising the Bluff Oyster and Food Festival on May 25.
Tickets will be released in stages, with the first batch available next Wednesday.
The event was cancelled due to Covid in 2022 and safety worries over the Club Hotel canned it last year.
Consent to demolish the decrepit hotel was granted in December but demolition was delayed until specific conditions were met.
Potential heritage article discoveries during the demolition did not concern Ms Fowler as the site was only to be cleared and not excavated.
"We are not digging. Full Stop. We are dropping the building, taking the debris away and then we put a layer of dunite over the top."
Retaining walls would need to be erected on neighbouring buildings.
Future festivals would have an expanded site that would provide more flexibility and room for more tents, she said.
"So that means we get to push our bar back which opens up the space in front of the stage more."
Despite the demolition green light, the committee had no plans at this stage to sell additional tickets in case work was not completed in time.
"That would be irresponsible to do that without having that firm knowledge.
"If we get it done [in time], we’ll have a nice roomy event.
Running the 2021 event had been super-challenging.
"We were lucky to get away with the 2021. But in 2022, there were vaccine passes, hand sanitisers, and all of that sort of stuff ... you can’t operate like that. There’s too much bureaucracy ... and it just takes away from the experience.
"We’re about being able to hug and hongi the people you meet. That’s what it’s all about."
There are concerns the festival will not be able to get enough marquees as the main marquee hire business in Invercargill is set to close at the end of the month.
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark said he would be exploring solutions to see what could be done to keep the marquees in Southland.
The delays the trust experienced were the result of processes which needed to be worked through, he said.
"It has been messy and it has been way too long. I would be the first to concede to that.
"But I can see both sides of the fence on this one."
The law constrained what councils could and could not do, he said.
Events like the Oyster Festival were important to the city and the Bluff community.
"It’s only my personal view, that it would be really great if the oyster festival morphs itself into something like the Burt Munro and become a three or four-day event," he said.
ILT chief executive Chris Ramsay was excited to hear the oyster festival was back on the event calendar.
"It was a good result for the province as a whole, for Bluff and for Invercargill.
"It’s going to be fantastic for all of our business.
"We know what the oyster festival does for all hospitality businesses in town, whether it’s accommodation, food or beverage."
While it was unconfirmed, he hoped the ILT and Air New Zealand would be able to offer travel and accommodation deals to people outside the city.
He expected there would be a "massive influx" of accommodation bookings once the news spread.
"They will be the hottest ticket in town — I’ve got no doubt."
