Times Square's PlayStation Theater To Close At Year's End: Report

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Times Square's PlayStation Theater is set to close at the end of the year, according to reports.

A four-show run by the jam band Disco Biscuits leading up to a final New Year's Eve performance will be the last shows at the Midtown theater, which opened in 2005 after a seven-figure construction project, Variety first reported. The 2,1000-seat venue was plagued by a poor location in the middle of Times Square and a strange design that forced concert-goers to take long escalators down to the venue, according to the report.

The venue is run by the entertainment group The Bowery Presents.

The PlayStation Theater is located underneath the Broadway office tower occupied by Viacom and MTV between West 44th and 45th streets. The space was initially a movie theater operated by Loews Theatres, but was redeveloped as an indoor concert venue. The venue opened in 2005 as the Nokia Theater, was renamed the Best Buy Theater in 2010 and then was renamed the PlayStation Theater in 2015.

While the PlayStation Theater never caught on as one of the city's top venues, it has hosted big names such as U2, Oprah Winfrey and Rihanna. Performances in the waning days of the venue include the RuPaul's Drag Race tour, Alessia Cara and Cypress Hill.