A staff member confirmed to Fairfax Media that the venue had been sold: "I can confirm that for sure. We're as gutted as anyone," the staff member said. The iconic inner Sydney pub sits on the corner of Broadway, and City Road, Chippendale. Credit:Peter Rae "We find out tomorrow how long we've got our jobs. It could [close on] August 29, it could be before that." Gone will be the beer-soaked carpets, battered pool tables and the sweaty stage where countless young musos have played their first - and last - gigs. Bands that have played there include The Living End, Mudhoney, Hard-Ons, Died Pretty, Go-Betweens and You Am I. The venue has long served myriad Sydney subcultures from indie rock to punk and hardcore music, to swing dancing. Most recently it operated as a free music venue, which meant it was a stepping stone for bands in search of paying gigs.

Sydney booking agent Adam Yee, who represents Sarah Blasko and is also a member of Sydney band Smudge, said the venue was "the last man standing" among a group of iconic venues that made up a thriving live music culture around Central Station in the 1970s and 1980s. The Living End performing at the Lansdowne Hotel. Credit:Virginia Star "I will remember it very fondly. I saw a whole bunch of legendary indie rock bands from the 1980s: Mudhoney on their first tour, Superchunk, Dinosaur Jr. "I played my first show there with first band supporting You Am I and Tumbleweed. Stephen Pavlovic from Modular Records was the bar manager there. "If you stuck a pin in the map at Central a drew a circle within a 3km radius you could play and see a gig three times a week within a three-kilometre radius [at the] Annandale, the Lansdowne, the Hopetoun, the Evening Star, the Gaelic, the Phoenician club where Nirvana played, the Strawberry Hills, the Teachers Club, the Graphic Arts.

"The Lansdowne was pretty much last man standing." "It is an important [venue] 'cause it's still got that university crowd and it's within walking distance of Central. It also has sizeable production [capacilities] in there. The closure, possibly as soon as August 29, would be another blow for the city's nightlife and live music scene, following the recent shuttering of the Exchange Hotel on Oxford Street. But AMPA chief operating officer Issac Chung Lee said he intended to retain public performances at an auditorium on the site. "The last thing we'd want is for the live music scene to be any more impacted than it is. We definitely want to keep that alive," he said. Mr Chung Lee acknowledged "the long history of the Lansdowne and its link with the live music scene in Sydney". Plans included using the hotel as a "performance venue ... for emerging and established artists".

"It will also be an amazing opportunity for AMPA students to perform and be trained in a venue that has hosted some of Australia's greatest musicians and bands. "With this exciting project we hope that AMPA will breathe some much needed life into the Sydney music scene." Mr Chung Lee said contracts for the sale were exchanged several months ago but the deal was yet to be formally settled. He said AMPA intended to spend up to $1 million revamping the site before opening it to students in January. "It has seen better days," he said. "The building itself is in quite a shocking state at the moment." The art deco Lansdowne was built in the 1920s, designed by prominent local architect Sidney Warden. Its state heritage listing describes it as a "prominent landmark" that "makes an important contribution to the streetscape of City Road in the vicinity of Broadway".

In its plan of management submitted to council, AMPA said it would ensure any future maintenance would "not impact on existing interior heritage elements". The development application is on public exhibition until August 12 and will then to go local planners for approval. The Lansdowne opened as a pub in 1933 and became part of Chippendale's notorious grit. The six-o'clock swill was an industrious affair, with male patrons reportedly able to urinate directly into a trough without leaving the bar. The pub's proximity to the University of Sydney - and later the University of Technology, Sydney - also ensured a steady stream of student clientele. At times it was an occasional haunt of the Sydney Push, a group of young left-wing intellectuals that began congregating in the 1940s. In January 2013, a fire tore through parts of the building, closing the pub for several months. A 23-year-old woman was charged with starting the blaze, which police alleged had originated over a fight between tenants living on the third floor. Last year the venue was bought by Oscars Hotels, which operates a number of pubs around Sydney and Wollongong. When contacted by Fairfax Media on Monday, the company said its group general manager was on leave and could not comment until next week. Pub management also declined to comment.

The Lansdowne is outside the prescribed CBD Entertainment Precinct where 1.30am lockouts and 3am "last drinks" laws apply.