In 1982, the building had a multi-million pound refurbishment to become the Academy Nightclub. The nightclub had one of very first water cooled lasers and the first Karaoke bar in the UK. The Opera House was closed for a three million pound refurbishment between November 2006 and June 2007, and officially reopened by Jo Whiley. The Opera House was sold to AMG Group in July 2009 and rebranded as O2 Academy Bournemouth from September.