Mill City Nights is closing in November

Downtown Minneapolis music venue Mill City Nights will close Nov. 30, general manager Chris Olson told BringMeTheNews.

Mill City Nights is a venture for Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG, for short), a global entertainment conglomerate that also operates Target Center.

In an email to BringMeTheNews, AEG senior vice president Joe Litvag characterized the venue's closing as "purely a business decision."

Mill City Nights opened as "The Brick" in 2012, and attempted to position itself as a similar-sized alternative to First Avenue. Logistical complaints resulting from an oversold opening night forced the venue to rebrand, remodel and downsize to a 1,200-seat capacity after less than a year.

In an interview with City Pages, Olson said that the club's roughly 50 staff learned of the coming closure on Tuesday. According to Olson, Mill City Nights had been having trouble staying in the black due to high rent prices but also noted that AEG is considering opening a different venue elsewhere in the Twin Cities.

Mill City Nights' smaller basement venue, the Nether Bar, is set to close as well. AEG will continue operations at Target Center.

A list of the remaining shows at the venue can be found here. According to Litvag, AEG is currently working to reschedule concerts booked for Mill City Nights after Nov. 30.

Reported by:  TCBmag.com