Mini-golf, bowling, darts and more: New £2m indoor centre ready to open in Northampton

A £2 million indoor centre with mini-golf, bowling and darts as well as food, drink and live sports opens in Northampton next week.

Caddy Shack at Sol Central is decorated to look like New York City and designed to be a place for all ages to enjoy throughout the day and night.

It is connected to the Gravity Active Entertainment centre above, which remains closed because of the coronavirus lockdown, and is due to open on Friday July 17

The mini-golf centre was due to open in March but was curtailed by the Covid-19 pandemic so it has been a long time waiting for Gravity co-founder Michael Harrison.

"We're really excited, we could have opened with the rest of the leisure places last Saturday but we never managed to get it open the first time around so we wanted to make sure everything was right when we do open," he said.

Gravity has spent the last two years fitting out the former Gala Bingo site in the style of the Lower East Side of Manhattan, complete with yellow cabs, booths, sidewalks and a dusky sky ceiling.

The golf course will run through the centre with a bowling alley in one corner, darts in another and a stage for live music, once it is allowed again.

The Caddy Shack bar serves American street food with a full vegan menu, craft beers, spirits, cocktails and soft drinks.

Michael said: "It will be a place for young and old alike. During the day the family environment will be welcoming for all ages to come and take part in darts, golf and bowling.

"Then in the evening, there will be music, live sports and great party atmosphere which is fantastic for students and young adults.

"It's a £2 million fit-out so no expense has been spared, we have the latest in technology with Flight Club-style darts and short lane bowling which adds to the whole experience.

"It's decorated in a Lower East Side New York City theme - it's going to be a really cool place."

The Chronicle & Echo has 10 vouchers worth £50 each to spend on food, drink and activities at Caddy Shack to give away. Click here to enter!

Michael claims Caddy Shack is perfectly suited to the new world of social distancing with spaced-out tables, golfers stick together, each bowling lane is separated and even the menus are disposable.

Like with most restaurants, staff will be doing extra cleaning and wearing PPE if they wish while hand sanitisers will be dotted around the centre.

Caddy Shack is launching in Northampton with 60 others planned around the country but Michael believes the town is the perfect place to start.

"This is the first Caddy Shack that we have developed, we really believe the demographic of Northampton with its students and great local economy," he said.

"We believe it's the best place trial the first of what will be 60 across the UK so it's a real first for Northampton."

Gravity currently runs 11 activity centres across the UK filled with trampolines and more, as well as one in Saudi Arabia and another due to open in Germany.

Michael said they have managed to survive the coronavirus pandemic and are coming out of it even stronger, having secured three more sites.

They are waiting for the government to give the go-ahead for the trampoline parks to reopen - sometime around July 17-18 is expected.

"This is the start of something big and we believe in Northampton," he said.

"We're trying not to suck the fun out of it as it's leisure at the end of the day, it's got to be a healthy balance of fun and safety."

For more information about Caddy Shack, email [email protected] or visit caddyshack-uk.com.

The Chronicle & Echo has 10 vouchers worth £50 each to spend on food, drink and activities at Caddy Shack to give away. Click here to enter!