AN Accrington town centre pub will finally open its doors after months of ‘hard work and tears’ as it looks to return to its former glory.

Varsity Accrington is opening today in Blackburn Road at the site of the former Calder Inn.

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The pub closed in October last year and was due to reopen in December under its new name.

However licensee Martin Angus hit complications during the process but is confident the venue is now ready to succeed.

He said: “We’ve had a few tears and tantrums, it’s been one thing after another at times.

“We’ve been working 12-hour days to get it open, it’s been hard work but when we’ve finished we’ve been going out and speaking to people in the town to find out what they want and what interests them.

“We want to get it back to being the best pub in Accrington and we think we can do it, there’s a bit of a buzz about it.”

The pub had problems when replacing the old sign on the front of the building due to rotten wood behind the structure which has had to be repaired.

More than £20,000 has been spent renovating the pub but staff are now confident everything is in order for the official opening today.

Mr Angus said: “I knew the pub from years ago when I worked in the area, I want to see it packed full of young people and everyone else.

“There’s been no interest and no customer codes in the past but we’ve reviewed the situation and think we know what it takes to make it a focal point again.”

The pub has seven high-definition screens and two new projectors to showcase sport and a variety of drinks will be on offer from ales to cocktails.

The official opening will take place at 5pm, with music from DJ Jordan Love entertaining guests until 3am.

Mr Angus has been working with Malcolm Bennett to open the pub, both of whom are directors at Varsity.

They also run a ‘Varsity Bangor’ pub in Wales and were asked to expand to work at the Accrington venue.

Matthew Cartwright has been brought in to manage the pub from the Bangor venue. Mr Cartwright said: “It’s a challenge to move over here and take this on.”