Venue hire in County Antrim
Five spaces under one roof from a small meeting to 500+ in the arena: a committee room, two function rooms, and two floor areas of 29 × 39 m that board over for events. Our own kitchen, a licensed bar and free parking for 120 cars, twenty minutes from Belfast.
Rooms and floor space to hire
Jim Baker Stadium is a function and events venue at Parkgate, between Ballyclare and Antrim. Anyone can hire here — you do not need to be a member of the bowling club — and the same building takes a six-person meeting, a two-hundred-seat wedding reception or a full exhibition, one at a time or side by side.
Every hire comes with our own kitchen, a licensed bar with staff, lift access to the upstairs rooms and free parking for 120 cars at the door. Prices are quoted per event because rooms, catering and staffing differ each time, and we aim to come back the same day.
If you know what kind of event you are planning, the pages for parties, conferences and meetings, funeral receptions and exhibitions and events go into detail on each.
At a glance
- Capacity
- Up to 500+
- Spaces
- Five
- Floor space
- 2 × 1,131 m²
- Parking
- 120 cars, free
- From Belfast
- 20 minutes
Our spaces
The full arena
Floored for whatever you need
The two green floor spaces measure 29 × 39 m each — 1,131 m² apiece, or 2,262 m² across the two, with a 4 m walkway between them. Board either green over on its own, or both for the run of the hall, with seating down the sides. Darts, MMA, exhibitions and film crews have all worked here alongside championship bowls, and the same floor takes trade shows, craft and antiques fairs, dance competitions, awards nights and product launches. Load-in is at ground level straight off the car park, which holds 120 cars for nothing, twenty minutes from Belfast and fifteen from Belfast International Airport. The entertainment licence allows 540 across the two greens together, however you divide them.
- Capacity
- 500+
- Floor
- Fully boarded
- Load-in
- Ground level
- Floor area
- 2 × 1,131 m²
- Darts & MMAOctagon or stage on the boarded floor, seating down the sides.
- ExhibitionsStand space with ground-level load-in and parking.
- Film & TVUnit vehicles in the car park, and the whole stadium turned over to hair, costume and makeup.
- Something else?Tell us the plan and we will tell you if it fits.
The McConkey Room
Stage area, PA and projector, with bar service to the room, and a divider wall that splits it in two when something more intimate suits. Wedding receptions, milestone birthdays, club presentations and large meetings — tell us what you are planning and we will say what fits.
Enquire about this room →
The Bar Lounge
Overlooking the greens, with the bar itself in the room. Best for smaller parties, funeral receptions and informal gatherings. Numbers depend on the layout and whether there is entertainment — tell us what you have in mind.
Enquire about this room →The Committee Room
- Theatre
- 30
- Boardroom
- 14
A small private room off the McConkey Room and the back foyer, for meetings, interviews and committee nights, with tea and coffee on request.
Enquire about this room →Green One
- Floor
- 1,131 m²
- Seated
- 500+
Six rinks, or boarded over as a 29 × 39 m clear floor. Suits exhibitions, sports events and large dinners while the rest of the building carries on as normal.
Enquire about this space →Green Two
- Floor
- 1,131 m²
- Seated
- 500+
The second 29 × 39 m floor space, identical to Green One, and drawing on the same seating allowance. Take both together for the full arena, or one each for two events running side by side.
Enquire about this space →Planning something specific?
- Exhibitions & eventsThe full arena boarded over for exhibitions, sporting events, trade shows and film crews — 500+ people.Read more →
- Parties & celebrationsBirthdays, anniversaries and engagements in the McConkey Room or Bar Lounge, catered from our own kitchen.Read more →
- Conferences & meetingsMeeting and conference space from a committee of a few upwards, with parking, catering and AV.Read more →
- Funeral receptionsQuiet, private rooms with catering and parking, and a team who will handle the arrangements.Read more →
- Bar & cateringWhat the kitchen and bar can do for your event, from finger buffets to sit-down meals.Read more →
- Short mat competitionsMatch mats laid out across the stadium floor for a club night or a full tournament weekend.Read more →
Food and drink
Everything is cooked in our own kitchen by our own staff — wedding breakfasts, christening lunches, funeral teas, birthday buffets and conference catering all come out of it. Choose a finger buffet, a hot fork buffet or a sit-down meal, and we will set the room to match and work around any dietary requirements you give us. The bar is fully licensed with staff provided, serving until 23:00, and a late licence to 1am can be arranged with notice.
- Finger buffet£11pp
- Hot fork£16pp
- Sit down£24pp
Getting here
We are on the Ballysavage Road at Parkgate, Antrim, BT39 0DX — a few minutes from Ballyclare and Antrim, ten from Templepatrick, and twenty from Belfast city centre and Belfast International Airport. Guests travel to us from across Antrim, Newtownabbey, Larne, Randalstown and Ballymena.
Parking is free and at the door, 120 spaces, with room for unit vehicles or a delivery lorry by arrangement.
Access
There is ramp access at the main door, and the greens are on the ground floor, level with the car park. The bar and the McConkey Room are upstairs, by stairs or lift, and the Committee Room has two steps up into it.
Two sets of male and female toilets, plus an accessible toilet, all downstairs. Tell us when you enquire if anyone needs step-free access and we will put you in a room that works.
Common questions
- Do I have to be a member to hire a room?
- No. Every room is available to anyone, with catering and bar staff included.
- Can we bring our own caterer?
- Food is cooked in our own kitchen. Tell us what you need and we will build a menu.
- How late can we run?
- The bar closes at 23:00, with drinking-up time until midnight. A late licence can take that to 1am, with drinking-up until 2am — tell us in advance and we will arrange it.
- Is there parking and step-free access?
- Free parking for 120 cars, at the door, and a ramp into the building. 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. Tell us if anyone needs step-free access and we will put you somewhere that suits.
- Where are the toilets?
- Two sets of male and female toilets, plus an accessible toilet, all on the ground floor — one set at either end of the building.
- What sort of events do you host?
- Parties, wedding receptions, conferences, meetings, funeral receptions, exhibitions, sporting events and bowls competitions — from a handful of people to 500+ on the arena floor.
- How many people can you take?
- Up to 540 with the arena floored — that is the entertainment licence, and it is shared across the two greens rather than applying to each, so one can take the lot. The function rooms vary with the layout and whether there is entertainment, so tell us what you are planning and we will tell you what fits. There is no minimum, either: a meeting of three is welcome.
- Can we hire the whole venue?
- Yes. Both greens can be boarded over and taken together with the function rooms, which is how larger events and exhibitions run here. Exhibitions & events →
- Where are you?
- Ballysavage Road, Parkgate, BT39 0DX — between Ballyclare and Antrim, twenty minutes from Belfast and fifteen from Belfast International Airport.
- Do you hold the date while we decide?
- We will pencil a date in and aim to come back to you the same day with a quote. Nothing is confirmed until you are happy.
- Is the venue available in summer?
- Yes, and it is the most open time of year — the bowls season runs September to Easter, so summer dates have the widest availability. In-season dates are not ruled out either; ask and we will work around what is on.
- Can we decorate the room ourselves?
- Yes. Tell us your access time and we will have the room set and ready for you to dress.
- Do you cater for dietary requirements?
- Everything is cooked in our own kitchen, so give us the numbers and requirements and the kitchen will work around them.