Hagans Leisure Athletic Performance Centre opens at Ballyclare Rugby Football Club
Ballyclare-headquartered Hagans Leisure has marked the opening of a new athletic performance centre at Ballyclare Rugby Football Club following a £125,000 sponsorship commitment.
The Hagans Leisure Athletic Performance Centre at The Cloughan will provide specialist indoor training facilities for rugby players, the club’s wider membership and affiliated hockey and cricket clubs.
The new centre is a big step forward from the club’s previous gym, which could accommodate around three players at a time. It now has room for full-team training, allowing players to work together indoors throughout the winter.
Sam Hagan, chairman of Hagans Leisure Group and a longstanding member of the club, said: “We are incredibly proud that this excellent indoor facility has become a reality. The Hagan family have been associated with the Ballyclare Rugby Club since the 1970s at all levels of rugby and we are happy to continue our support, helping to create exceptional indoor training facilities for club members and beyond.”
The centre has dedicated areas for cardiovascular exercise, strength training and lifting, alongside space for jumping, running and throwing. Its central 20m by four-metre performance corridor can accommodate sprint work, sled training, movement drills and conditioning.
There is also a physiotherapy room and dedicated strength and conditioning office.
Aran Blackbourne, chairman of Ballyclare Rugby Football Club, said: "As a club we believe in developing and caring for our players by providing the facilities, coaching and opportunities that allow them to be the best they can be fulfilling their full potential.
“We are incredibly grateful to Sam, Gareth and all at Hagans Leisure for their investment and their belief in what we are trying to achieve. Their support has allowed us to deliver a facility which would otherwise have been extremely difficult for a volunteer-led community sports club to provide.
"What we have now is not just a great facility for players today, but the players who are sitting in our youth system and our mini system, and ones who are yet to come. It’s a long-term facility.”
The centre is the first major physical development within the wider Cloughan Project. The club’s plans include new and upgraded 3G, hockey and cricket pitches, changing facilities and improvements across the site, with the aim of creating a sustainable multi-sport hub serving clubs, schools and community groups in Ballyclare and beyond.