Family-run holiday and motorhome business Hagans Leisure backs Ballyclare’s new £125k sporting future
(Photo Caption > Hagans Leisure Athletic Performance Centre at Ballyclare RFC)
The sponsorship of a new athletic performance centre will benefit rugby players and the wider sporting community
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 that will help local sportspeople train and boost their potential.
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.
This investment continues a relationship between the Hagan family and Ballyclare RFC stretching back to the 1970s, while supporting the club’s ambition to create better sporting opportunities for the wider community.
Sam Hagan, Chairman of Hagans Leisure Group, and a longstanding member of the club joined in the 1970s, when the changing facilities had no showers. The sponsorship is a personal one for him.
He said: “We are incredibly proud that this excellent indoor facility has become a reality for Ballyclare.
“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 Hagans Leisure family would like to wish all the clubs a very successful season.”
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.
A physiotherapy room and dedicated strength and conditioning office will also enable players and members to access specialist advice and rehabilitation support.
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.”
He added: “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.
Hagans Leisure remains a family business, owned and managed by Sam Hagan and family, with his son Gareth continuing the next generation’s involvement. Its story began in 1961 when Sam’s parents, Jim and Peggy Hagan, bought a second-hand touring caravan to use while travelling to show pedigree pigs. Caravan sales followed from the family farm, before the business expanded into caravan hire on the North Coast and, later, holiday parks.
Today, the group operates Causeway Coast Holiday Park in Ballycastle and Ryan Bay Holiday and Residential Park near Stranraer in south-west Scotland. Its Ballyclare base offers new and used motorhomes, touring caravans and holiday homes, alongside workshop services, accessories and storage. Its support for local sport has included Ballyclare RFC and Mossley Ladies Hockey Club.
The Hagan family are well-known entrepreneurs in Ballyclare and across Northern Ireland, with a longstanding commitment to philanthropy. Sam has credited his parents Jim and Peggy with instilling the values of hard work, loyalty and responsibility to the community that have shaped his life and career. Hagans Leisure’s latest investment in Ballyclare sport continues that family legacy, creating opportunities for local people and future generations.
(l-r) Aran Blackbourne, Chairman, Ballyclare RFC; Rhys Cobain, Construction Manager, Ballyclare RFC; Sam Hagan, Chairman, Hagans Leisure; Gareth Hagan, Managing Director, Hagans Leisure; and Richard Lutton, Capital Projects Manager, Ballyclare RFC.
Pic 3: (l-r) Gareth Hagan, Managing Director, Hagans Leisure; Peter Duncan, President, Ballyclare RFC; Jack Gamble 1st XV Captain, Ballyclare RFC; and Sam Hagan, Chairman, Hagans Leisure.
Gareth Hagan, Managing Director, Hagans Leisure; Jack Gamble 1st XV Captain, Ballyclare RFC; and Sam Hagan, Chairman, Hagans Leisure.
Gareth Hagan, Managing Director, Hagans Leisure; Sam Hagan, Chairman, Hagans Leisure; and Jack Gamble 1st XV Captain, Ballyclare RFC
Photos of Hagans Leisure Athletic Performance Centre at Ballyclare RFC
