Prenton Rugby Club unveils new £1m community hub

After a monumental fundraising effort and a groundbreaking building project, Prenton Rugby Club’s revolutionary community hub officially opened on Friday 16th January.

The club’s dream of turning its site into a state-of-the art space for the Wirral community to use finally became a reality and it is now open for venue hire and events.

The Open Day saw an incredible turnout — with The Mayor Of Wirral Brian Kenny, Councillor Alison McGovern and members of the club and public in awe at the new-look club. There were guided tours of the facility, as well as the Prenton Dell Claypit nature trail and reserve. The club is now offering community memberships of just £10 for the year — including discounted drinks at the bar and venue hire.

The forward-thinking project shows how a traditional grassroots rugby club has transformed into a vibrant community project. Revolutionising the role of a rugby club in today’s society, the Prenton RUFC Community Hub project repositions the rugby club as a space that promotes community, inclusivity and wellbeing.

Over the past decade, Prenton RUFC has been redefining its role in the Prenton and Birkenhead area — responding to the closure of key local facilities such as the library, youth club, community centre, pub and playing fields. The club has filled a huge gap and has become a thriving nucleus that benefits many people, businesses and charities.

The club’s community-facing work includes kids’ clubs, adult wellbeing programmes, fundraising events, a community garden and a Prenton Dell Claypit nature trail created in partnership with National Grid and wildlife groups. This evolution has helped the organisation become ‘more than just a rugby club’ by addressing issues such as loneliness, mental health, obesity and social isolation.

The Community Hub development has itself been a fantastic community effort. Through fundraising campaigns that have raised over £1.1 million from a combination of public support, grant funding and charitable sources, the project has resulted in state-of-the-art facilities — including a community café, multi-use event space and a gym coming soon.

England Rugby, The Rugby Football Union and rugby stars such as Matt Dawson all championed the project. The club’s Crowdfunder campaign raised over £40,000, meanwhile the following funders all contributed to the project: The National Lottery, Bernard Sunley Foundation, Key Fund, Garfield Weston and The Johnson Foundation, with Community Ownership Fund funding an incredible £850,000.

Prenton RUFC’s evolution reflects a broader trend in community sport: clubs acting as social hubs, wellbeing providers and environmental stewards. Whether hosting mental health groups, offering space for local organisations, or bringing people together surrounded by nature, the hub illustrates how sport can intersect meaningfully with everyday life.

Prenton RUFC’s Gareth Knapman said:

“It was an emotional day at the club — seeing a dream for more than a decade finally become a reality. It has been a monumental effort for all concerned — from everyone involved in the planning and fundraising to the exceptional work of the building team who completed the work in just 6 months which is unheard of for a development of this size.”

“Our goal now is to ensure that this space benefits the Prenton and wider Wirral community through regular activities, events, venue hire and wellbeing. We’ve been doing great things during the past ten years or so but now we can really step up thanks to these fantastic facilities. We’re now open for community groups to use, private functions and venue hire, events and festivals.”

Prenton Rugby Club’s groundbreaking community hub is now open for community use and venue hire after a £1.3million development project — community memberships are available for just £10 per year and these include discounts on drinks at the bar and discounts on venue hire.