Level X Middlesbrough: First look at new race track set to open soon in Middlesbrough

Lane 7’s new venture Level X in Captain Cook Square will be jam packed with activities for Teessiders. The site will include go karting, crazy golf, bowling, arcade games, and cyber darts.

Now, new photos shared by Independent Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston on his Facebook page show the new karting track. Delays have hit the venue that was meant to open its doors in April 2022 – the new launch date has not been shared but the mayor said it was opening soon.

Level X, which will take over the former TJ Hughes site, will be able to stay open until 2pm and forms part of Mr Preston’s vision for a regional leisure hub at Captain Cook Square. It will join esports venue The Wired Lobby, which will be in the former Peacocks store, and there are also proposals for a new boutique cinema, but plans have not been submitted for this yet.

The Wired Lobby will launch around the end of March. It will have a stage with 100 seats for local tournaments, 50 gaming desktop computers where gamers can play Fortnite and League of Legends and 40 PlayStations and Xbox machines. For those after an immersive experience, there will be eight race simulators including a full-size shell of a BTC racing car with elite-level equipment.

The council bought Captain Cook Square in 2020 using Future High Streets Fund cash as part of £9m regeneration plans for the area. Gradually, it is being taken over by leisure ventures rather than retail units.

The council’s head of economic growth and infrastructure Sam Gilmore has recently spoken out about the development of the area. He said: “Town centres are changing, everyone is shopping online, out of town [shopping centres] are completely dominant. People are just not consuming in the same way and it’s unlikely to return to where it was, we just have to adapt to a new way of working.

“Middlesbrough town centre was probably one of the most vulnerable. We have to diversify and understand what we are doing so a town centre is somewhere people want to spend time rather than need to spend time.”

Speaking specifically about Captain Cook Square, he added: “Obviously, we can’t go kicking out tenants so we don’t want to unsettle people at the same time, and they have rights under their leases so it’s not an overnight job. I know that frustrates people a lot of the time but it’s completely fair and reasonable.

“At Captain Cook Square, we will see a major transition. By the end of 2023 we will have four to six tenants in there with more to come.”