The Newport Music Hall is known as “America’s longest continually running rock club,” but come December, the concert hall will be taking a break from its reputation to undergo some long overdue renovations and improvements.

With its weathered gray exterior and lines of fans that often extend down High Street on concert nights, The Newport has not only become a campus landmark but also an eyesore.

In recent years The Newport has gained in popularity, but with bands playing at a continuous rate and a building owner not handling problems, it has been hard to find time to take care of business.

“They couldn’t find the real owners,” said Gary Wolf, owner of The String Shoppe, which is a longtime neighbor of The Newport.

The city attempted to contact the owner several times about lawsuits, back taxes, and building code violations but were unsuccessful, Wolf said.

The building was in desperate need of new ownership and a new look to combat the wear and tear of hosting bands and thousands of people, when an ownership group including PromoWest Productions purchased the building in July 2003.

The group will oversee the operations on the inside and outside when improvements begin Christmas break, said Becky Long, spokeswoman for PromoWest.

PromoWest Productions, the largest full-service concert and special events management company in Central Ohio, produces over 400 concerts a year at The Newport, The Brewery District Pavilion in downtown Columbus and The Agora in Cleveland.

“It is a great venue,” Wolf said. “PromoWest has always been as good as you can get in that business.”

Several visible improvements to the inside and outside of the building will take place in December. During this time the Newport sees very few concert tours and students will be gone for winter break, said Jan Haas, acting general manager for The Newport Music Hall.

An exact date to begin renovations has not been set, and a lot of the new features are still being designed, but this is a perfect time to begin these necessary additions and improvements, Haas said.

“There will be a new look to the front of the venue, a new marquee and the box office will be moved street side,” Long said, referring to the visible renovations that will be seen from High Street.

Inside the concert hall, the lobby will be enlarged and widened and there will be new restrooms as well as heating and cooling systems, Long said.

Along with PromoWest, Development Group, Inc., a local commercial development company has deemed the Newport renovations as one of their six current projects.

“I can’t wait to see the place be changed,” Haas said. “I love it as it is, but to spit-shine is always a good thing.”