The Key Club, one of the anchors of the Sunset Strip and second in size only to the House of Blues, is closing March 15, officials announced today while promising that “in the coming months our space will welcome a new project.”

The history of the 700-capacity club dates to the early days of the Strip when, as Gazzarri’s (then a one-story building), it hosted the likes of the Doors, Van Halen, Alice Cooper, Tom Petty, Guns N’ Roses, the Go-Go’s and others. For a short time it the ’90s, the venue was known as Billboard Live. In recent years, the club has been up and down, closing for a time in late 2009. Sources say that recently the club was mired in debt and rumored to be for sale.

After the jump, the statement from Ian Shepp, operations manager:

Dear fans,

It is with a heavy heart that I share this news with you. Regretfully, we will be closing our doors at the Key Club on Friday, March 15th. To everyone who’s called Key Club a second home, I can’t thank you enough for supporting us and the artists who’ve rocked our stage.

In the coming months our space will welcome a new project, which I encourage you to check out. Until then, we’re going out with a bang! The last two weeks of our events calendar is packed with performances from our favorite artists, and we’ll be making sure the Key Club’s last night on the Sunset Strip is nothing short of legendary.

This is our final goodbye as Key Club on Sunset. It has been an honor and privilege to share our passion for music with you. We hope that you will continue to support the remaining independent live music venues on Sunset Strip -­” our neighbors at The Roxy, The Whisky and The Viper Room.

Rock on and thanks for an incredible ride!