Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake’s St Andrews sports bar could be open by summer 2025.
The T-Squared Social venue will be a “family-friendly cinema, dining and entertainment offering”, according to those behind the project.
Refurbishment of the town’s New Picture House cinema is expected to start later this year and will last around six months.
Two out of three cinema screens, including in the main auditorium, will be retained along with the New Picture House name.
Fife Council approved the plans – submitted earlier this year by Nexus Luxury Collection, which Woods and Timberlake are shareholders of – this week.
Planning officers said the proposal “would protect and enhance the character and appearance” of the area.
Sports bar plans approved for historic St Andrews cinema
The venue will include a restaurant and public bar, with one cinema screen retained for full-time use and another to show live sports and to host films.
It is hoped that the New Picture House will become a “social hub” for St Andrews.
According to the company behind the plans, the cinema has not been viable for a number of years and is in “steep decline”, running at less than 10% occupancy.
The exterior of the current building, which is listed and dates from the 1930s, will remain the same with renovations and enhancements made to the interior.
Christopher Anand, managing partner for T-Squared Social, which already runs a flagship sports bar in New York, said: “We are delighted to have received planning permission for our exciting proposals.
“As a team, we listened to the residents of St. Andrews, and taking account of this increased the number of screens, including retaining the main auditorium.
“With our new entertainment concept, sitting alongside the cinema, this will ensure that a cinema offering can remain in the town for this and for generations to come.
“We look forward to continuing to work with Fife Council and the local community as we seek to deliver our scheme.”
The venue will employ between 40 and 50 staff members, with the current 10 workers given the opportunity to stay on.
The main auditorium will retain the large screen and will become a multi-functional space with a range of sports simulators including golf, rugby, lacrosse and football.
The seating here will be flexible, allowing change depending on the use of the space on a day-to-day basis.
The existing ceiling, walls and stage features of the auditorium will be retained.
The upper level of the cinema will be staying as it is today, with over 300 seats retained in the venue for cinema-goers.
Meanwhile, cinema three will be maintained in its present form with technology and seating improvements.
The current cinema two will be replaced with seat groupings and an area for electronic darts.
David Morris, the managing director for New Picture House, will stay to manage the transition to the new venture.
He said: “It is fabulous to see the amazing support we have received from the community for these proposals, and to see them getting the green light from Fife Council.
“The intervention by T-Squared not only allows a cinema offering to be retained for the town, but indeed the building itself.
“This is the right company, we felt, to maintain the family legacy that has been up for almost a century.”
An opening date is yet to be confirmed.
The developers were forced to rethink the plans in March after the original proposal provoked fury in St Andrews.
Nearly 12,500 people signed a petition expressing “deep concern” for the future of the cultural landmark.
Locals also called the plans “disrespectful and a bit cheeky” as it was declared a “celebrity vanity project” in the town.
However, a St Andrews golf historian said he could “think of no better place for” the bar than the home of golf – and the proposals received just one formal objection.
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