The city of Somerville has temporarily closed down a hotel lounge after a Thursday night fight at the lounge caused police to disperse a large crowd, according to a statement released by Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone.

The Holiday Inn's Night Games lounge has also agreed to cancel it's New Year's Eve event, and the Somerville Licensing Board will likely review the lounge's liquor license at its next meeting, the mayor's statement says.

The fight at Night Games involved 10 to 12 women, and police dispersed a crowd of over 100 partygoers after breaking up the fight, according to Deputy Police Chief Paul Upton of the Somerville Police Department. (More here.)

After dispersing the crowd at the Holiday Inn, several partygoers appeared to have fought again at the nearby Hess gas station in Charlestown, where there were reports of a shot being fired.

Here is the statement from Curtatone:

“In light of the early morning incident at the Holiday Inn Somerville, I want to assure residents, community members and business owners alike neither I nor the Somerville Police Department take this – or other similar incidents – lightly, and that we are taking all available steps to prevent something of this nature from occurring within our borders in the future.  Somerville has been lauded for its innovation, our incredible and diverse restaurant scene, our various artist communities and so many more vibrant and positive issues.  I refuse to let incidents like this cast a negative shadow over all that our community has accomplished, and therefore we’ve already taken interim steps to prevent future issues.  Earlier today, our Neighborhood Impact Team – comprised of representatives from Inspectional Services, Fire, Police, and Health Departments – was dispatched to the Holiday Inn to determine if further action is needed at that site, which has resulted in the temporary revocation of Night Games’ Certificate of Occupancy pending public safety-related repairs.  As the Somerville Police continue their investigation of this issue, we will also keep our Licensing Board apprised and expect that this establishment’s license will be reviewed at its next regular meeting.  We have been in contact with the management of the Holiday Inn, who have agreed to cancel its New Year’s Eve event at Night Games pending the outcome of these discussions.” 

This isn't the first time in the past few months the Holiday Inn has come under scrutiny. In September, the Holiday Inn hosted Brazilian Day event that drew nearly 4,000 people. Somerville police arrested two people at the event, and afterward Somerville aldermen complained the party was noisy and disruptive to the neighborhood.