Pitch & Pot Southport paid partnership
A major new name in sports, hospitality and competitive social entertainment is coming to Southport this December, as Pitch & Pot prepares to open following a £400,000 investment into a previously vacant sports and leisure space at the rear of 72 Tulketh Street.
Spanning approximately 9,000 sq ft across five principal entertainment areas, Pitch & Pot has been designed to bridge the gap between professional-standard sporting facilities and sophisticated social hospitality.
The concept will bring together golf, championship-standard pool, darts, interactive multi-sports, major live sports viewing, private gaming and premium food and drink to create what its founders describe as “the ultimate live sports play and viewing experience.
Far removed from the traditional sports-bar model, Pitch & Pot is being created as a premium competitive social entertainment destination — equally suited to serious sports players, families, groups of friends and businesses entertaining clients and staff.
The venture will launch with the motto: “Play. Watch. Experience Sport Differently.”
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Five Distinct Sport and Entertainment Experiences
At the heart of Pitch & Pot will be an extensive collection of professional-standard sporting facilities.
The venue will feature 14 Rasson Apollo II Ultimate pool tables, including two dedicated TV and match-table arenas designed to provide an elevated setting for competitive and exhibition pool.
Pool will play a significant role in the venue’s sporting calendar, with plans encompassing high-level competition and events including Ultimate Pool British Open and Ultimate Pool Shootout events.
A dedicated darts area will feature seven darts lanes, complemented by a separate exhibition and match-stage board capable of hosting competitive events and exhibitions. The venue also plans to host ADC darts tournaments.
Golfers will have access to advanced Trackman simulation technology, creating a professional indoor golf environment for practice, competition, coaching and social play.
The technology extends beyond golf, with the simulation facilities capable of delivering additional interactive sports including football, baseball and more.
Pitch & Pot also plans to establish professional golf coaching programmes and inter-leagues, alongside competitions including longest drive and lowest-round scoring challenges.
The golf operation will draw on professional expertise to create an experience designed to complement Southport’s internationally recognised golfing heritage and appeal to both residents and visitors to England’s Golf Coast.
A New Way to Watch Sport Live
Playing sport is only half of the Pitch & Pot experience.
A dedicated live sports viewing theatre will be centred around a bespoke 4.5m x 2.5m ultra-HD screen, creating an immersive setting for some of the biggest sporting occasions of the year.
With comprehensive Sky Sports and TNT Sports packages, approximately 20 large screens positioned throughout the venue and a full surround-sound system, Pitch & Pot has been designed so major sporting moments can become genuine events.
Football, boxing, golf, darts, pool and other major sporting fixtures will form part of a year-round programme of live viewing experiences.
The venue will also include a private poker and games room, adding another dimension for groups, members and corporate guests.
Premium Hospitality, Delivered To The Table
While professional-grade sport sits at its heart, Pitch & Pot is being developed with the standards of a premium hospitality venue.
Guests will benefit from full table service throughout, allowing them to enjoy the sporting and social experience without repeatedly leaving their table, game or viewing area.
The bar will offer a carefully developed premium drinks selection incorporating high-end draught beers, bespoke wines and cocktails, premium spirits and perfect-serve mixers.
Pitch & Pot will also work with major drinks brands, with official partnerships including Coca-Cola, Heineken and Forged Irish Stout.
Luxury furnishings, premium fittings and sophisticated interior finishes will sit alongside the venue’s sporting technology, creating an environment designed to feel as appropriate for corporate hospitality and an evening out as it does for competitive sport.
A Street Food Concept Designed To Keep Changing
Pitch & Pot will take a different approach to its food offer.
A separate attached building will provide a dedicated space for a rotating programme of seasonal street-food vendors, bringing together exciting local and national operators.
Rather than operating a conventional fixed sports-bar menu, the concept will allow Pitch & Pot to showcase changing cuisines and emerging food brands throughout the year.
The team intends to seek out exciting operators gaining attention both locally and nationally, including vendors building significant followings through social platforms such as TikTok.
The result will be an evolving food experience designed to give customers another reason to return and discover something new.
Three Owners. One Vision
Behind Pitch & Pot are Jamie Rae, Les Dodd and Danny Balshaw, three owners bringing together extensive experience across hospitality, professional sport and successful sports-led leisure businesses.
Jamie Rae, owner of Potters Sports Lounge in Formby and Lansdowne Bistro in Southport, brings extensive hospitality and operational experience to the project. His career has included operations-management roles working with leading UK brands before establishing successful hospitality businesses of his own.
Les Dodd, owner of the Les Dodd Snooker Centre, brings approximately 27 years of cue-sports business experience together with first-hand knowledge of professional competition.
A former professional snooker player who reached the world’s top 40, Dodd brings a lifetime of experience within the sport and remains a respected ambassador and personality within the wider snooker community.
Danny Balshaw brings extensive experience from the sports-bar and competitive-sport sectors as co-owner of the highly followed McNamara’s sports-bar brand, with venues in Runcorn, St Helens and Crosby.
Alongside his business experience, Danny Balshaw competes in Ultimate Pool and is an accomplished golfer playing from a +2 handicap. He is bringing together a team of professional golf expertise to help develop Pitch & Pot’s coaching, competitive and social golf offering.
Together, the three founders aim to combine the strongest elements of their respective backgrounds into a single destination.
The owners of Pitch & Pot said:
“Pitch & Pot is the result of three people with different backgrounds in hospitality and sport coming together with one shared vision: to create an environment where the quality of the sporting facilities is every bit as important as the quality of the hospitality.
“We wanted to move beyond the traditional idea of a sports bar. Whether somebody is a serious player looking for professional-standard facilities and coaching, a family looking for somewhere different to spend time together, friends meeting for an evening out or a business entertaining clients, we want the experience to feel exceptional.
“Southport has an incredible sporting heritage, particularly through golf, and we believe there is an opportunity to create something that complements that reputation while introducing a new generation of competitive social entertainment to the town.
“We are investing £400,000 into transforming a vacant sports and leisure space, but our ambition goes beyond the building itself. We want Pitch & Pot to become part of the local sporting community, create employment, develop young players and provide a venue capable of attracting exciting sporting events and personalities to Southport.
“Ultimately, we want people to be able to play sport, watch sport and experience sport at a completely different level — all while receiving the standard of hospitality they would expect from a premium venue.”
From Serious Sport To Social Play
Membership will form an important part of the Pitch & Pot experience following opening.
A range of options is planned, from exclusive corporate memberships designed for businesses entertaining clients and rewarding staff, through to family memberships, sporting memberships and coaching packages.
The concept is deliberately designed not to force customers to choose between serious sport and social entertainment.
Competitive players will be able to access high-quality facilities, coaching, leagues, tournaments and events, while casual players can experience those same premium facilities purely for entertainment.
Families will also form an important part of the venue’s proposition, helping establish Pitch & Pot as a daytime and evening leisure destination rather than simply a late-night sports bar.
Investing In Southport
The opening represents an approximately £400,000 private investment into bringing a vacant Southport sports and leisure facility back into active use.
Pitch & Pot expects to create approximately 20 new jobs, while the founders also plan to establish a youth sports academy and support community and charitable events through the venue.
The academy will form part of a longer-term ambition to introduce younger players to sports including pool, darts and golf while providing opportunities to develop through structured coaching and access to high-quality facilities.
The venue also intends to build relationships with established sporting personalities, with connections across professional sport including figures such as Steven Gerrard, Luke Littler and Liam “Beefy” Smith, alongside personalities from the worlds of pool, snooker and golf.
Corporate Partnerships Now Available
Ahead of the December opening, Pitch & Pot is now inviting enquiries from businesses interested in corporate memberships, sponsorship opportunities and media packages.
Its extensive digital infrastructure will allow corporate partners to access promotional opportunities across the venue’s large-screen network, including bespoke media packages surrounding major sporting events.
Corporate membership opportunities are being developed for businesses looking for an alternative environment in which to entertain clients, host teams, reward employees and experience major sporting occasions.
General, family and sporting memberships, together with coaching packages, are planned to become available when Pitch & Pot officially opens.
Opening Early December 2026
Pitch & Pot will open at the rear of 72 Tulketh Street, Southport, in early December 2026.
Further details surrounding the official opening, memberships, sporting events, coaching programmes, food partnerships and launch celebrations will be announced ahead of opening.
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