Burnley Leisure unveils £80,000 upgrade at Prairie Sports Village for hospitality, business and sport

Burnley Leisure has invested over £80,000 in the upgrade of hospitality and interior facilities at Prairie Sports Village including a new bistro and bespoke areas for social, business and sports-focused users.

The range of improvements have been influenced by customer feedback. Burnley Leisure says the upgrade makes Prairie Sport Village a multi-purpose destination for family hospitality, golf and business activities.

The new Prairie offer is due to open on May 17 as other Burnley Leisure activities and venues continue phased re-openings in keeping with government guidance.

Prairie is a light, airy contemporary venue with panoramic views of Pendle Hill. Conveniently located between Burnley and Brierfield, it is ideal for work, play or relaxing with colleagues, family or friends.

The venue’s new 1955 Kitchen & Bar is now managed by Burnley Leisure’s in-house hospitality arm, which also runs hospitality at Burnley Mechanics Theatre and Townley Golf Course. Burnley Leisure has launched a new menu and created new bespoke facilities for work and business. There are rooms and suites available for meetings, receptions and private parties.

Golf range facilities at the Prairie now include Toptracer technology, which displays the direction of golf shots on screens, just like golf on TV. This offers fun games, statistics and social media options for players of all abilities, both seasoned and first timers.

Not-for-profit Burnley Leisure serves thousands of people with recreational, sport, entertainment and cultural activities. It operates other venues including St Peter’s Leisure Centre, Towneley Golf Course, Thompson Park Boathouse, Padiham Leisure Centre and Burnley Mechanics theatre

Mark Dempsey, Hospitality Manager at Burnley Leisure, said: “We are delighted with the Prairie refurbishment and new hospitality, leisure and business offerings. The name of 1955 Kitchen & Bar pays homage to the year that the sports pitches first opened on the site. It touches upon our heritage but we are offering a contemporary, British-led dining experience. Breakfast and lunch will be served Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 3pm and we will now also be open for dinner on Thursday and Friday evenings.

“We’ve appointed a new head chef and taken some of our staff off furlough to create a team of 12-15 full and part-time staff there. We’re working with local suppliers including butchers and fishmongers, which will support local businesses and also help cut our carbon footprint.

“Our delicious menu includes classic British and regional favourites plus global street food and vegan options. Our traditional Sunday lunches are hugely popular too. Visitors can also order food and drink on the driving range by scanning a QR code, order and pay online and have everything delivered to their bay.  With the new look, feel and menu, we are also increasing our draught beer range.

“For many reasons, we think the new 1955 Kitchen & Bar is a fantastic development. We’re confident it will gain the popularity and reputation of our other hospitality offerings at Townley Golf Course and Burnley Mechanics.”

Three new areas are being created at the Prairie. One will focus on hospitality for families and friends. Another will be a quiet area for remote working and business, including individual stations for laptop computers, devices and USB charging. The third zone will focus on groups of sports visitors with a bench seating area.

In addition to the golf driving range, other attractions at Prairie include an all-weather mini golf course and all-weather sports pitches for hire.

Since the pandemic began in early 2020, Burnley Leisure has played a leading role in supporting community wellbeing during the lockdowns, restrictions and phased re-openings.

Examples include creating free fitness workout videos and wellbeing sessions for the community and schools, helping the Burnley Together network to support residents with everyday needs, helping children in need with lunches and activity clubs, and leading the roll-out of regular covid-19 testing for people at work.

Outdoor golf, football and fitness restarted in March, along with online fitness sessions. Indoor gyms and pools reopened in mid-April. Indoor classes, steam rooms and hospitality at Prairie and Towneley are due to reopen in mid-May. More announcements about Burnley Mechanics are due soon based on Government guidance.