A licensed bar and our own kitchen
Open to members and visitors alike through the season — a pint while you bowl or after, with the bar looking out over the greens. Catering is for events: buffets and sit-down meals for anything from a committee meeting to a full dinner.
The bar at Jim Baker Stadium
The bar looks out over the greens, so you can watch the rink you have just come off. You do not need to be a member to use it: visitors, visiting clubs, spectators and anyone who has come to watch a competition are all served the same. Take a drink onto the seating and watch a game, or bring one out while you are playing — the only rule is that nothing goes on the carpet itself.
There is no daily food service — the kitchen works to events. On competition and tournament days we can put hot food on between sessions, and every function in the building is catered from here rather than brought in cold.
Parties, conferences, funeral receptions, prize nights, exhibitions and dinners are all catered by us. Because we do it ourselves, food arrives when you want it rather than when a caterer can get here, and dietary requirements are handled quietly once you have told us.
- Bar
- One licensed bar
- Open to
- Members and visitors
- Kitchen
- Events only, cooked here
- Season
- September to Easter
- Parking
- Free, 120 cars
Catering is quoted with the room, so there is one price and one invoice at the end.
Venue hire →When the bar is open
Hours follow the bowls season, September to Easter, and move with what is on — a competition or a function changes them.
Rather than publish hours that a competition weekend would make wrong, we would sooner you rang and got the right answer for the day you are coming. Someone is in the office through the season.
The bowls season runs September to Easter. Outside it the bar opens for functions and events rather than to a set timetable, so a summer date is arranged with the booking.
For a function, the bar serves to 23:00 with drinking-up until midnight. A late licence takes that to 1am, with drinking-up until 2am, arranged in advance.
Event catering
Everything cooked in our own kitchen. Prices are a guide for 2026/27 and confirmed with your booking.
- £8ppTea, coffee and sandwichesSandwiches, scones and traybakes, served on arrival
- £11ppFinger buffetSandwiches and hot bites, tea and coffee throughout
- £16ppHot fork buffetA hot meal served from the kitchen, plated or self-service
- £24ppSit-down mealThree courses, served to table
- £3ppTea and traybakesAdded to a meeting or a session on the rinks
Dietary requirements are handled — tell us when you book. Ring the office and we will build a menu round your numbers.
What we cater for
Tell us the occasion and the numbers and we will price it.
- PartiesFinger buffets for a birthday in the Bar Lounge, or three courses in the McConkey Room. Cakes cut and plated.
- ConferencesTea and scones on arrival, a hot fork lunch, something in the afternoon — timed to your agenda, not ours.
- Funeral receptionsTea, sandwiches and traybakes ready for the time the service ends, from £8 a head. Catered a little over your figure.
- Tournament weekendsHot food between sessions on full-day competitions, arranged in advance with the organiser, and the bar open right through.
- Prize nights & dinnersClub and league presentation nights, with a top table, a PA and food served to a running order.
- Exhibitions & eventsCatering for crews, exhibitors and spectators when the arena floor is boarded over.
- Away daysLunch and a bar tab for corporate groups, either side of a couple of hours on the rinks.
- Bar tabsSet a limit behind the bar for your group and we will keep the tally and close it when you say.
- Visitors welcomeYou do not need to be a member to drink here. Visiting clubs, spectators and anyone dropping in are served the same as everyone else.
- A pint while you playYou can take a drink out to the seating while you bowl. Nothing goes on the carpet itself — food and drink stay off the green.
- Big screen sportFree-to-air sport on the big screen, and the major bowls whenever it is being shown, with the sound up for the finals.
Common questions
What people ask about the bar and our catering — who can use the bar, what is on when, and how event catering works.
- Do I have to be a member?
- No. The bar is open to visitors, visiting clubs and spectators through the season.
- What are the bar's hours?
- They follow the bowls season, September to Easter, and vary with what is on — competitions and functions change them. Ring the office and we will tell you what the bar is doing on the day you are coming.
- Can I have a drink while I am playing?
- Yes. Take it out to the seating beside the rinks — just nothing on the carpet itself.
- Is there food on every day?
- No. There is no daily food service — the kitchen caters events and functions, and puts hot food on between sessions at competitions.
- Do you cater dietary requirements?
- Yes — tell us when you book and the kitchen will work round them.
- Can we bring outside caterers?
- No. Event catering is done in our own kitchen, which is what keeps the timing yours. Cakes and home baking are welcome.
- Can we run a bar tab?
- Yes. Set a limit for your group, we keep the tally, and you close it when you are ready.
- Is there a later licence for functions?
- The bar closes at 23:00 with drinking-up until midnight. A late licence can take that to 1am, with drinking-up until 2am — tell us in advance and we will arrange it.
- Are children welcome?
- Yes. Children's portions are on the event menus and the car park is set back from the road. We do not have high chairs, so bring one if you need it.
- How many can you cater for?
- It depends on the room and the layout — tell us the numbers and the occasion and we will tell you what fits. When the arena floor is boarded over it takes a great deal more than the function rooms do. Exhibitions & events →
- Can you cater a full-day event?
- Yes. Hot food between sessions and the bar open through the day on tournament weekends and exhibitions.
- Where exactly are you?
- Ballysavage Road, Parkgate, BT39 0DX — between Antrim and Ballyclare, five minutes from the M2 at Templepatrick.
Catering for something?
Send the date, the numbers and the occasion. We aim to come back the same day with a price.