In reply to russtyg:
No experience myself but I live a short distance from The Climbing Works which is one of the most successful walls in the country. As someone who climbs there regularly it's not hard to see some of the reasons why.
The three people that set it up were very experienced climbers that had been climbing a long time and two of whom climbed at a very high standard, I think all had experience in route-setting professionally. I think it's typical of many successful walls is that they are set up and run by people who are completely fanatical about climbing.
They were setting up in Sheffield, a city with a lot of climbers but also already had two very successful walls already. Their idea was totally original (at the time). It was to set up wall that was exclusively for bouldering, and it was the biggest bouldering wall in the country (maybe the world?).
The location was seen as extremely important. It took years (maybe 5?) to find the right building in the right location. The location was the part of the city where a large segment of the climbing community already lived. This seemed like a very smart move. I go there more often than I otherwise might, in part because it's just 5 minutes away by bike.
Attractiveness: The Works is a nice place to be. It has a lot of natural daylight, comfy sofas and is kept clean. The wall is attractive with interesting and varied shapes that make you want to climb them.
Bouldering not lead climbing. Bouldering walls have several advantages. The fact you don't need a partner is huge. With lead wall if you don't have a partner you cannot go. For some people this is hugely limiting so such people will simply not climb as often, possibly anywhere near as often. Bouldering walls don't need such a big building, so easier to find somewhere and much less initial investment is required. Less red tape stuff to do with safety too.
Route-setting. You can have the best most modern wall in the world but if the route-setting is shite the wall will be shite. This is something I think many walls get wrong and the Climbing Works really excels at. They have their own style of very technical bouldering that's not just about strength. They have circuits that are good for the best climbers in the world but equally circuits suitable for total beginners and children, and plenty for the intermediate climber. The place has always been child friendly, but since opening they added the Mini-Works, a purpose built separate area specifically for younger climbers. The circuits are re-set on a regular basis with cleaned holds. The sets of holds they use are good quality too, interesting shapes etc.
Training area: They have a small but useful training area, with campus board, finger boards, pull bars, kettlebells, wall bars, rings and the Beastmaker steep wood systems board for serious training.
Client base. Although any wall has to be attractive to local climbers the successful ones also seem to create more customers by attracting non climbers to climb too. Some of these go on to become keen climbers also, and thus regular customers.
Community. Although it's privately owned run the Works clearly sees itself as a part of climbing community, not just something that serves and profits from it. They give back to the community. They have a free Xmas party each year. They host regular events but other people, like film shows, yoga classes, physio sessions. Parts of the wall get changed and rebuilt maybe once a year. They host the annual CWIF, their own international competition, that has grown into something resembling a World Cup event attracting top names from all over the world. It's the certainly the most important regular competition in the country now. Entry is free.
Good luck and I hope that helps.
