For those who are by now well-acquainted with the four corners of Jesters and the bright lights of Circuit on a Wednesday night, the opening of LEVEL1 may offer a refreshing alternative for society events.
Tucked just under the terraced seats of St Mary Stadium’s Chapel Stand, LEVEL1’s new mixed-leisure facility is one of the largest in the south of England.
Having opened in October, its offerings range from pub classics like darts and pool, to simulators for golf and racing, alongside more physical activities like a climbing wall and high ropes.
Open until 11pm, or midnight between Friday and Sunday, the venue also serves food as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Pints cost £5.50 – and activities range from relatively cheap, such as £8 for a round of mini golf, to steep for group games, with 90 minutes in a football simulator costing £36. Unfortunately, the climbing walls and high ropes are also not available to those who have had too much to drink.
These can be enjoyed either during activities or sat in one of the many booths which have smaller TVs with access to a variety of channels – including all major sports networks.
As part of LEVEL1’s student-focused opening, last Wednesday many societies, including ourselves at Wessex Scene, were invited to experience these amenities firsthand.
We got to access the activities for free, and got 40% discount on drinks – something we hope that LEVEL1 will make a regular occurrence. While we found that some alterations could be made to enhance the student experience there, LEVEL1 has exciting potential as both a more laid-back alternative to Southampton’s well-worn social destinations, and an ideal place for societies to host sober events.
We greatly enjoyed the venue’s choice of music, as well as its bold neon design and vibrant atmosphere. We also loved the fresh twists on LEVEL1’s selection of well-known games, such as its darts which incorporated AR elements and many gamemodes to choose from.
Our favourite was the crazy golf; which had been reimagined to consist of each player taking three shots from the original starting position and being scored between 10 and 100 points each time. With each of the nine holes featuring a new and creative obstacle, this version maximises the fun of navigating these while skipping the tedium of watching the same person missing five puts on each hole.
However, since activities must be booked individually and by reserving a specific time, many felt that LEVEL1’s design could be better tailored to the student model. The current model does not allow visitors to make spontaneous use of the variability on offer; since any series of activities must be rigidly preplanned. While this makes sense for use during parties or matchdays, the creation of less structured student nights would greatly drive interest from students at times when the venue would otherwise have little traffic.
Travel is another concern: as St Mary’s Stadium is further for University of Southampton students to travel than many other social destinations. While the quality of activities on offer can justify the trek, and both Circuit and Edge are a short walk away as options to continue the night, anyone planning a social must take this factor into account.
LEVEL1 will be a welcome and promising addition to the growing diversity of ways to spend a night out. At opening it may already prove to be popular among Southampton’s student community, but with a few minor changes it could establish itself as a fixture for society events going forward.
