Turns out the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, where PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott was murdered, could be turned into affordable housing.
Right now there is a plan in motion to build a $38 million, 180-unit complex on the site where Dimebag and three other people were killed by a 25-year-old ex-Marine named Nathan Gale who had some serious psychological issues to say the least.
Although Cleveland-based developer NRP Group was granted a zoning variance from the city of Columbus to support the proposed housing development, the project must still gain tax credit financing from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency before it can proceed.
Last December, Alrosa Villa was listed for sale for $1,295,000.
For those who don’t know the story of the tragic event, on the night of December 8, 2004, a complete fucking lunatic ex-Marine, who was convinced that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts, charged onstage while DAMAGEPLAN were playing to a packed nightclub. He then began to open fire on the band and crowd, before being killed himself by police officer James D. Niggemeyer, who arrived on the scene minutes after Gale began his rampage.
It’s almost like Gale seemed to deliberately target Abbott, leading to speculation that the guy held some sort of grudge against Abbott and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul, for the break-up of PANTERA in 2002.
Gale jumped a fence surrounding a patio outside the club as DAMAGEPLAN began playing its first song. He then walked through the crowd and entered the stage from behind a stack of amplifiers. He pulled a handgun and shot Abbott in the head, then turned the gun on those who tried to intervene.
DAMAGEPLAN crew member Jeffrey Thompson, club security guard Erin Halk and audience member Nathan Bray also were killed. Band manager Christopher Paluska and band technician John Brooks were wounded.
The carnage ended when Niggemeyer entered the club through a rear door and fatally shot Gale as Gale held a gun to Brooks’s head.
Vinnie Paul died in June 2018 at the age of 54 in his sleep at his home in Las Vegas. The official cause of death was dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. He was buried next to his brother and their mother, Carolyn, at Moore Memorial Gardens cemetery in Arlington, Texas.