Angel Street: Former Argos store in Sheffield city centre could become new ten-pin bowling alley

The Argos shop on Angel Street in the Castlegate area of the city closed for good in 2021 and has since stood empty. But a licensing application has now been submitted to Sheffield City Council for a new Tenpin bowling alley at the site. Tenpin already has nearly 50 bowling alleys around the county, including ones in Doncaster, Leeds and Manchester, though this would be its first in Sheffield.

The licensing application, submitted by Georgica Limited, states that it is for a family entertainment centre (bowls), which would be allowed to open from 10am to 2.30am seven days a week, with permission to screen films, play live and recorded music and sell alcohol. It is understood that Tenpin is still in talks about leasing the premises.

The Star has contacted Tenpin to ask more about its plans, including when the new site could open and how many lanes it would have, but the company has yet to respond. It is understood that Tenpin is still in talks about leasing the property, which includes the old Argos warehouse and covers nearly 40,000sqft.

If it opens, it would be the latest ten-pin bowling alley to land in the city, following Lane7, which opened on Matilda Street, just off The Moor, in 2019, and Clubhouse, which opened at Meadowhall earlier this year, as the sport appears to be enjoying a boom in popularity.

It would also mark the latest step in plans to regenerate Sheffield’s historic Castlegate area, which was once home to Sheffield Castle and more recently housed a bustling market. The Kommune food hall has been a hugely popular addition to the area, as has the National Videogame Museum, and plans were recently unveiled for a new riverside park, along with shops and other businesses, on the old castle site.

However, the area’s revival recently suffered a blow when it was announced the Co-op supermarket at Castle House, on the corner of Angel Street and Castle Street, would be closing for good, and plans to transform the crumbling Sheffield Old Town Hall into a a hotel and apartments, with a ‘souk-style’ market, appear to have stalled since being approved in 2019.