A new darts centre described as "one of the best facilities of its kind in the world" has opened in Bristol. The venue, called Hangar 61, has been created from the former Patchway Sports & Social Club to serve the growing number of people participating in the sport.
The centre will be used by the Junior Darts Corporation, a group 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.
Hangar 61 will serve as the National Centre for the darting community, 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 popularity has been attributed to the rise of 19-year-old Luke Littler, who reached the 2024 PDC World Final at the age of 16. A peak TV audience of 3.7 million people watched the final, attracting younger audiences to a sport traditionally played by older men 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," noting he "started at like 18 months old on a magnetic dartboard and he's just grown and grown." Jackson was introduced to darts by his dad Rob, who started playing at age 12. Rob said the academy has grown significantly since he became involved in 2017, with 400 kids playing in one competition last weekend across locations including Ireland, Belgium, Liverpool and Bristol.
