Popular Auckland music venue sold

The Kings Arms tavern, an Auckland beacon of live music. Photo / Supplied

The popular Auckland pub and live music venue The Kings Arms Tavern has been sold as a prospective residential redevelopment site for $7.4 million.

Bayleys today confirmed the sale - which could be bad news for music fans as the location was promoted as a redevelopment opportunity.

The new owner is very unlikely to continue the venue's operations, proprietor Maureen Gordon told Fairfax. However, she also told Fairfax the bar will continue to run for the next 16 months.

The Kings Arms has hosted a huge number of local and international artists in it's more than 25-year history including Mac DeMarco, The National, The White Stripes, Kurt Vile and St Vincent.

In the coming months the band is scheduled to host Angel Olsen, Peaches, and a double header of metal giants Marduk and Gorguts.

Established in the late 19th century, The Kings Arms is a part of central Auckland history but with the land recently re-zoned by Auckland Council as mixed use, the buyer can use the land for residential or commercial interests.

Earlier this year, fans of the venue launched a petition called Save the Kings Arms which garnered over 6000 signatories.

In response to the news of the potential sale, the petition read: "We must stop this! The Kings Arms is the center of the Auckland music scene. Musicians hang out there all the time. A lot of fantastic bands have played there and international acts have too. Its heartbreaking to think this will be all gone and will have a massive blow in the scene. We must save it. We got to do something!"