Get in touch
Someone is here most of the day through the season. Call, email or WhatsApp for anything urgent — a date, a rink, a room — and we will tell you straight away what is free. WhatsApp is handy for photographs and numbers, and comes to the same phone.
- Monday – Friday
- 09:30 – 13:00
- Season evenings
- Staffed from 18:30
- Weekends
- When events are on
Antrim, BT39 0DX
Where to find us
Jim Baker Stadium is on the Ballysavage Road at Parkgate, County Antrim, BT39 0DX — home of County Antrim Indoor Bowling Club, with two greens of six rinks under one roof. It sits between Antrim town and Ballyclare, five minutes off the M2 at Templepatrick, with a car park at the front door.
Whatever you are ringing about — a rink for two, a short mat competition, a fiftieth birthday, a conference, a funeral reception at a day's notice or the full arena for an event — it comes through the same office. Phone is quickest during the day. Email is answered the same working day, and anything urgent inside a week is better rung through than written.
The building is busiest from September to Easter, when the bowls season runs and the function rooms are booked most weekends. Through the summer the office keeps shorter hours but hire enquiries are still picked up, so send them on whenever suits you.
Ring the office. Funeral receptions and short-notice rooms are arranged over the phone in one call.
028 94 432 937 →What is it about?
Pick the one that fits and it goes straight to the person who can answer it.
- Venue hireRooms, the arena, parties, conferences and funeral receptions.Check a date →
- BowlsPay-and-play sessions, group bookings and taster nights.How it works →
- MembershipJoining, renewals, subscriptions and league placement.Join the club →
- CompetitionsEntries, draws, results cards and rearranged ties.Competition pages →
- From Belfast
- 20 min
- From the airport
- 15 min
- From Ballyclare
- 10 min
- Parking
- Free, 120 cars
Off the Antrim to Ballyclare road. Coming from the M2, leave at Templepatrick and follow the signs for Parkgate. Coach and minibus set-down is at the door, and there is a ramp into the building.
Results, fixture changes and last-minute rink availability go up on Facebook first.
- Secretary
- secretary@
- League secretary
- leagues@
- Bookings
- hire@
All @jimbakerstadium.com. Anything you are not sure about goes to contact@jimbakerstadium.com.
Common questions
Answers to the things most people ring to ask.
- Where exactly are you?
- Jim Baker Stadium, Ballysavage Road, Parkgate, County Antrim, BT39 0DX — between Antrim and Ballyclare, five minutes off the M2 at Templepatrick.
- Is there parking?
- Yes — free, lit, 120 spaces at the front door, with room for a minibus or coach. Nothing to pay and nothing to validate.
- Is the building accessible?
- There is a ramp at the main door and the greens are level with the car park. The bar and the McConkey Room are upstairs with a lift, and the Committee Room has two steps up into it. Toilets are two sets of male and female plus an accessible toilet, all on the ground floor. Tell us what you need and we will make sure it works.
- Can I just turn up to bowl?
- Yes, if a rink is free — but we always recommend ringing first, and a call saves you the drive.
- How fast do you reply?
- We aim to come back the same working day on hire enquiries. Ring rather than email if your date is inside a week.
- Who do I speak to about hire?
- The office handles every room and the arena. One person takes it from the first call to the invoice.
- Are you open in the summer?
- The bowls season runs September to Easter. Outside that the office keeps shorter hours, but hire enquiries are still answered and summer has the widest availability for a booking.
- Can we come and look round?
- Yes. Ring ahead and come up any evening in season to see the rooms and the greens.