A NEW £5 million bingo hall in York will open its doors for the first time on Wednesday .

The Mecca Bingo club, Fishergate, will feature air conditioning, a licensed bar, a caf, regular cabaret entertainment, wide aisles and dedicated positions for wheelchair users.

It is located next to the old Fishergate club, which was demolished to allow for the new high-tech facility, and whose site will now serve as a car park.

The new building, owned by entertainment giant Rank, has the capacity for 90 members.

The Lord Mayor of York, Coun David Horton, will be having a game or two on the launch night on Wednesday.

General manager Kevin Farnsworth said: "This is an amazing club, and whilst it's only a few short steps from the old York Mecca Bingo Club, in terms of facilities and decoration it's streets ahead." New equipment includes a sophisticated random number generator.

Mecca Bingo Limited owns and operates 122 clubs throughout the UK.

Thousands of members have already signed up to the new club, and any members wishing to have a sneak look are invited to attend preview sessions on Monday and Tuesday.

Mecca Bingo was pulled up by City of York Council last year for breaching planning regulations. The company designed the hall to be 1.5 metres higher than had originally been approved by planning councillors, after finding items of archaeological interest on the site. The matter was resolved after a retrospective planning application to cover the height increase was submitted.

Updated: 10:54 Saturday, March 29, 2003