Tiger Woods’ new St Andrews bar faces petition to stop function; nears 9000 signatures

Tiger Woods recently teamed up with Justin Thomas for a business deal. They planned to turn the 1930s New Picture House into a sports and entertainment pub house at the Home of Golf, St. Andrews in Scotland.

However, people around the area have signed a petition against the project, describing the bar plan as "deeply alarming" and calling it a threat to the special place. The campaign is organized by St. Andrews University Firm's student Ash Johann Curry-Machado and so far around 9,000 people have signed the petition in just seven days of its launch.

Curry-Machado mentioned in her plea that the bar is a threat to "strip away a vital part of our town's identity and history." In her petition, Machado wrote:

“The proposed transformation of the New Picture House into a luxury sports bar by T-Squared Social, an American company, is deeply alarming. Under these plans, the cinema will be reduced to a single screen, overshadowed by golf simulators and cocktail bars that cater predominantly to wealthy tourists."

“St Andrews is a town with a rich Scottish identity, and the New Picture House has played an indispensable role in preserving that heritage. Converting it into another sports bar is a grave mistake that will contribute to the ongoing gentrification of our beloved town. Our culture, our heritage, and our community spirit are at stake. We must act now before it’s too late!” she added.

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"I’m honoured to be able to invest in the town" - Justin Timberlake talks about the sports bar at St.Andrews

Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake are shareholders in a real estate company called Nexus Luxury Collection and have planned to open T-Squared Social around the world. Last month, they announced their plan to open it in New York and also plans to redesign the New Picture House at St.Andrews.

Speaking about his project in St. Andrews, Timberlake said that he had been to the golf course many times in the past few years and was honored to invest in the project. He said (via The Courier):

"I’ve come to St Andrews many times to play golf. I’m honoured to be able to invest in the town and bring our second T-Squared Social here. Our new venue is so much more than a typical sports bar experience – it’s a place you can go to be entertained without sacrificing quality or comfort.”

Tiger Woods revealed that the idea to build a sports bar came into his mind while playing a round of golf. He said ( via Gulf News):

"The idea for T-Squared Social came to us during a round of golf at Albany, our development in The Bahamas. Justin and I thought it would be cool to create a place that combines our favourite things and bring people together to just have a great time. We always knew we wanted to do something together, and NEXUS gave us the platform to bring our idea to life in New York City and now St Andrews.”

Besides this, Tiger Woods has also joined hands with Rory McIlroy to launch a new golf league called TGL. The inaugural season of the series will take place in 2024.