Delivering world-class rugby to inspire a community
£11.5m
Construction fees
4,000 sq. m
Indoor training barn
2
Full sized pitches
Opened in 2020, we supported the delivery of an energy efficient, world-class training facility for Bristol Bears, worthy of top professional rugby players, helping to make the marginal gains that secure glory.
Professional rugby club, Bristol Bears invested in a new state-of-the-art training facility, in Abbots Leigh on the edge of Bristol.
Officially titled ‘Bears High Performance Training Centre’, the new facility includes a two-storey steel-framed training pavilion containing a gym, changing rooms, two hybrid grass pitches (one of which is floodlit), S&C and medical facilities, and office accommodation for the club’s staff. The project also includes a 4,000 sq. m indoor training barn.
The club enjoys a shared vision and philosophy, with the Bristol Bears Women and Men’s Teams, both training at the High Performance Centre, as well as the Academy players, all sharing best practice from a coaching, medical and athletic performance standpoint.
The club’s ambition was to create a world-class facility that enables Bristol Bears to recruit the game’s top talent, attracted by the dedicated facilities, whilst also accommodating on site all its teams.
“ The Bears High-Performance Centre facilitates world class preparation in an elite environment. The players and staff are so grateful of what we have and we understand the expectations that come with it, on the field and in our community. Embracing that challenge and continually raising the bar is a key part of our team growth and culture. ”
Director of Rugby Pat Lam
Our engineers delivered the detailed design and assisted with closing out reserved matters following the successful planning submission.
Our multi-disciplinary approach included:
- Delivery of geo-environmental investigations, as the facility was on a former landfill site
- Civil and structural engineering of the foundations and the steel framed barn
- Wide range of MEP and building services engineering
- Technical advisory role
- Acoustics advice
Working closely with KKA, the scheme’s architects, and project manager Capita, our MEP engineering team has designed the M&E for the facility with a focus on energy efficiency and the aesthetics of the architectural design.
A sustainable solution
Bristol Bears Rugby Club has placed a strong emphasis on the sustainability of the facility to match the high-specification of the training facilities for the players. Our M&E design ensures that the controls for services are based on strategic zones and work on-demand to minimise unnecessary running costs. The pavilion building will also be fitted with a dedicated PV array to further reduce the consumption of electricity as part of the focus on reducing the CO₂ from the building and achieving a low running cost.
Inspiring the community
High performance is at the centre of everything Bristol Bears strive to do, driven by the quality of the people and teamwork that happens there every day.
Enabling elite players to perform at their highest level is central to achieving the club’s vision to ‘inspire the community through rugby success’.
The new training facility is an important part of that vision, as with improved facilities often comes enhanced performance, driving success and inspiring the community. Via the Bristol Bears Community Foundation, their aim is to inspire every young and older person it works with, helping them to unlock their potential, serving the community across four key areas: education, participation, health, and inclusion. The charity’s youngest participant in 2020 was five-years-old, with the oldest 104.
“ It was crucial to us that we recognised the people who have driven this process from the start. The vision of Steve [Lansdown] and Chris [Booy] is embodied in the Bears High-Performance Centre and the foundations are set for the Bears to move forward to the next level through high performance. ”
Director of Rugby Pat Lam
