New darts centre opens amid rising popularity

A new darts centre, described as one of the best facilities of its kind in the world, has opened in Bristol.

The former Patchway Sports & Social Club has been transformed into a venue called Hangar61 to serve the growing number of people participating in the sport.

It will be used by a group called the Junior Darts Corporation, which was founded by former professional player Steve Brown.

Brown told BBC Radio Bristol he wanted to create a space where young people could learn to play darts in a non-pub environment.

The Junior Darts Corporation started in Bristol in 2010 and now has up to 260 academies worldwide.

Hangar61 will serve as the National Centre for the darting community as well as hosting darts academies, community coaching programmes and professional-level training.

"We've seen a trend of darts academies starting up, and not just in function rooms of bars, they're now in cricket clubs, football clubs, rugby clubs," said Brown.

This surge in the popularity of darts has been attributed to the rise of 19-year old Luke Litter, who reached the 2024 PDC World Final at the age of 16.

A peak TV audience of 3.7 million people watched the final and attracted the attention of a younger audience to a sport traditionally played by older men and often in pubs.

"There's so many 10-year-olds out there now that want to play darts because of Luke Littler," said Brown.

One of the Junior Darts Corporation's young talents, 11-year-old Jackson, described Littler as "amazing."

"He started at like 18 months old on a magnetic dartboard and he's just grown and grown," he said.

Jackson said he was introduced to the sport by his dad Rob, who started playing when he was 12.

"I want him to be a part of how it's growing and enjoy playing and whatever comes from it," Rob said.

Lola, 17 and from Oxfordshire, said the new facility is a "good opportunity for youngsters."

"It's something that's grown with me as a kid. The passion I have for the sport is amazing. I've made loads of friends and it's just a good community."

Jack, 14, who described the new centre as "absolutely unreal", said he enjoys darts because it's different to other sports.

"A lot of other sports, you're playing on a team. Here, you're on your own and if you hit a bad score, it's not the same as football when you miss a goal."

Cori, 17, said the new centre is the "best place to play darts."

"Bristol definitely needed something like this. There's a few bars and pubs, but nothing like this."

Rob said the academy has grown since he became involved with it in 2017.

"The way we've grown over the last few years has been crazy.

"I look after the tournament side of things and last weekend we had 400 kids playing just one competition. We had some in Ireland, Belgium, Liverpool and Bristol."

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