Ball Park Brighton Marina: Everything You Need to Know About Sussex's First Football Tech Arena
Ball Park, Sussex's first football tech arena, at Brighton Marina
Ball Park sits at Unit 1, Upper Boardwalk, Brighton Marina BN2 5WA: 500 square metres, 11 professional-standard football activities, a free-to-enter sports bar, a sensory room and a private karaoke party room, all under one roof. Founded by Brighton-born Aaron Stevens and run with his wife Charlotte, their son Tommy and niece Morgan, it opened in July 2025 as Sussex's first football tech arena and is now rated 5.0 on Google across 82 reviews.
The kit comes from Elite Skills Arena, the Poole company whose technology is used by professional clubs around the world, and it covers everything from a ten-metre sprint lane and a speed radar to the Precision Wall, the ICON Football Ring and the Ronaldo header challenge. Grab a wristband on arrival and your stats are tracked across every activity.
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The floor is bigger than it looks from the boardwalk. According to Elite Skills Arena's own case study of the venue, roughly 50 of the 500 square metres are taken up by the bar and toilets, which leaves around 450 square metres for the football floor, the sensory room and the rest of the venue. The sensory room is built to support relaxation, self-regulation and exploration, with mood tables, interactive floor busy boards, a bubble wall and immersive lighting, and dedicated SEND sessions run every Tuesday from 10am to 12pm.
Ball Park opens at 10am and runs until 11pm most days, later on Fridays and Saturdays and until 10pm on Sundays. Memberships start at £35 a month, and Compass Card holders get 10 per cent off.
Book a sessionballparkbtn.co.uk
We first covered the venue in July, and there has been plenty to add since. Read our July guide to Ball Park here.
The arena floor at Ball Park Brighton Marina, with the ICON Football Ring in the foreground
The Precision Wall
The Precision Wall is the centrepiece of Ball Park's tech offering. It is a sensor-equipped target wall from Elite Skills Arena, the football technology company based in Poole, Dorset, built to develop shooting accuracy, first-touch control and teamwork under game-realistic pressure. Vibration sensors and LED targets track every strike and feed it back in real time, so there is no hiding from a weak left foot.
The wall comes in two versions. The full-size model has 28 targets and matches the dimensions of a full goal. The compact model has 9 targets, measures 3.168m by 1.842m, weighs 155kg and takes around 30 minutes to set up. The wall at Ball Park is the nine-panel version, a three-by-three grid of panels, which founder Aaron Stevens describes as programmed for target hitting, accuracy and repetition. LED zones light up in random or set sequences, forcing the player to keep their head up and pick a spot in a split second, and 14 game modes cover everything from solo target practice to group competitions. A goalkeeper simulation mode replicates a keeper's dive, and a built-in scoreboard tracks every hit and miss.
Every session is logged through the ESA Data Hub, which lets coaches benchmark accuracy under fatigue, and an optional RFID wristband system links each player to their scores. Elite Skills Arena's own pitch is repetition: a standard shooting drill might give a player 20 shots in 15 minutes, while the company says the Precision Wall can deliver 100 shots in five.
It is professional-grade kit, priced accordingly. Greaves Sports lists the Precision Wall from £19,200, while Harrod Sport lists the full-size 28-target version at £48,000. Venues can also request custom colour matching and full vinyl branding from ESA, so a wall can carry a venue's own logo.
Want one of your own? You can buy direct from Elite Skills Arena, or through Harrod Sport's nine-panel model, Harrod Sport's full-size model, Greaves Sports or Axtion Tech. Or do what most of Brighton will do: book a session at the Marina and use it for the price of an hour.
The Precision Wall at Ball Park Brighton Marina, Sussex's first football tech arena
The ICON Football Ring
The ICON Football Ring is built around the principle of deliberate practice: improvement comes not from endless kickabouts but from repeating specific, high-pressure movements that replicate match conditions. The ring makes players think and react fast, developing close control, passing accuracy and awareness in one continuous drill loop. Ball Park's is the 6m ICON, which founder Aaron Stevens says is ideal for scanning, pass completion, weight of pass and precision. Elite Skills Arena says its circular design delivers as many touches in a minute as a full 90-minute match.
The 6m model is 6.2m across and 0.61m high, with 16 aluminium panels of built-in LED targets and sensors, and weighs 260kg. Specialist sports equipment retailers list ICON football ring models at between £10,000 and £32,000 before VAT, depending on the size and version. At Ball Park Brighton Marina, time on the ring is part of a standard £13.50 session. That is the gap the venue is closing: professional academy equipment made accessible to anyone who books a slot. The ring also works as a rehabilitation tool for players coming back from injury, offering controlled, low-impact training in a safe indoor environment.
The ICON Football Ring at Ball Park Brighton Marina, Sussex's first football tech arena
The Quick Pitch
The Quick Pitch is Ball Park's indoor mini pitch, an enclosed patch of artificial turf where the goals are small, the space is tight and every decision has to be made in a heartbeat. Ball Park describes it as designed for intense close-control training and quick-thinking football, built around precision passing, rapid decision-making and tight-area finishing.
The black perimeter wall is stamped with the gold Ball Park hexagon, the small goals are built into it, and windows above the netting look out over the marina village. A Premier League No Room for Racism banner runs along the wall, and the whole space is closed in, so the ball stays in play and nobody spends the session chasing it down the boardwalk.
The format is deliberately simple: bring a mate for a 1v1, or make it a 2v2 with four of you. With this little room to work in, every touch counts and there is nowhere to hide. Time on the Quick Pitch is included in the one-hour activity session, which gives you access to all the football equipment on site for £13.50 per person. Book a session here.
The Quick Pitch at Ball Park Brighton Marina
The VAR Room: Karaoke, Private TVs and Drinks to Your Door
The VAR Room is Ball Park's latest addition: a private party space down at the marina, built around karaoke, private TVs and a bar that comes to you. Ball Park's own website says VAR stands for "Vocal Audio Review", a nod to football's video referee, while its booking page calls it the "Vocal Ability Room". Either way, the room is yours exclusively for the session, for groups of four to ten, and the booking system allows up to 12.
The screen runs Karafun, the karaoke platform whose professional version lists more than 89,000 studio-recorded tracks, adds roughly 400 new songs every month and lets you adjust the key, tempo and vocals. The same platform offers a live singing battle with scoring and a music quiz mode, so a birthday can turn into a tournament. Four colour-coded handheld microphones hang beside a wall-mounted tablet, the sound comes from a wall-mounted Yamaha speaker, and an acoustic guitar stands in the corner for anyone who wants to go unplugged.
What makes it different is the setting. The room sits inside a football tech arena, so a group can spend an hour on the pitch floor, then move to a private room with multiple TVs for the match, karaoke for the aftermath and drinks delivered to the door. A fibre-optic light feature hangs over the black leather booth seating and green velvet bar stools, which gives the room the feel of a lounge rather than a booth.
The VAR Room books at £10 per person for a one-hour session, and the Karaoke Party package is £18 per person for two hours with a drink included, for groups of 8 to 15. Book the VAR Room here, or see the full VAR Room details.
The VAR Room karaoke suite at Ball Park Brighton Marina
The Bar and the Atmosphere
Ball Park is not a sports centre with a vending machine. The sports bar is free to enter, the Fast Serve Bar sits within sight of the pitch floor, and Ball Park's own post promises live football on a 100-inch screen and nine TVs, with karaoke, darts, drinks from the bar and plenty for the whole family. The venue says it can pour a fresh pint in 12 seconds.
WATCHTap to open
Big screens show every live sport available, according to our July guide, and Ball Park's own post puts the numbers at a 100-inch screen plus nine TVs. Ball Park does not list its fixtures on its website, so ask the team before you go if you want a specific match on.
DRINKTap to open
There is a big choice of quality drinks and cocktails, and Ball Park says a fresh pint takes under 12 seconds. Founder Aaron Stevens says the family is proud of the quality of its drinks and the competitive prices at the sports bar, which is managed by his niece Morgan. Drinks are delivered straight to your door in the VAR Room, and every Family Friday Night booking comes with a drink each.
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Between rounds you can take on the Omni dartboard, an interactive digital darts game, try the interactive archery setup or the football pool tables, and there are 11 professional-standard football activities on the floor.
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Karaoke runs all day, every day at Ball Park, as we showed on our Only in Brighton page, and groups can take it private in the VAR Room.
Good to know before you go
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■The sports bar is free to enter
■Ball Park opens at 10am and runs until 11pm most days, later on Fridays and Saturdays and until 10pm on Sundays
■A sign in the bar reminds drinkers to keep glass off the grass
■For a specific match, ask the team before you visit
Whether you come to play or just to watch, the bar shares a room with the pitches, so a group can split between the two without anyone missing the match.
The sports bar at Ball Park Brighton Marina
Book a Session: What It Costs
Ball Park runs on a simple online booking system: pick a session, choose a date and time, and pay. Every price below is per person as booked, apart from Family Friday Nights, which is £40 for a group of four. Tap a session name to jump straight to its booking page.
WHAT ONE PERSON PAYS, AS BOOKED
Under-5s and their grown-ups, with a free coffee for parents
Private karaoke and TV room for groups of 4 to 12
£40 for four players, with a drink each
Access to all the football equipment on site
Minimum 8 people, drink included, in the VAR Room
The standard one-hour activity session at £13.50 gives access to all the football equipment on site, and the cheapest way in is the £7 Parent and Toddler session. The Karaoke Party looks like the dearest at £18, but that covers two hours and includes a drink, which works out at £9 an hour. Compass Card holders get 10 per cent off. See every session on Ball Park's booking page.
A group session on the pitch at Ball Park Brighton Marina
Family Friday Nights
Every Friday from 4PM to 8PM, Ball Park runs Family Friday Nights: four players and a drink each for £40 for the hour. Ball Park's own booking page sums it up as fast games, cold drinks and big laughs, and it is built for parents and kids to play together.
EVERY FRIDAY
4PM to 8PM
THE TEAM
4 players
INCLUDED
1 drink each
PRICE
£40 an hour
BALL PARK BTN · UNIT 1, UPPER BOARDWALK, BRIGHTON MARINA
The maths is the point. Book four people onto a standard one-hour activity session and it comes to £54 at £13.50 each, without the drinks. Family Friday Nights brings that down to £40, or £10 a head, drinks included, which is a saving of £14 plus four drinks.
It suits a family, or four friends who fancy a Friday kickabout with a drink in hand. Book Family Friday Nights here.
Family Friday Nights at Ball Park, four players and a drink each for £40 an hour, 4PM to 8PM
Toddler Mornings at Ball Park
Every Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 10AM to 12PM, Ball Park opens its pitch floor to under-5s and their grown-ups. The booking page lists a one-hour Parent and Toddler session at £7 per person, and Ball Park's own post says you can come whenever suits you during those two hours.
TODDLER MORNINGS · THE WEEK AT A GLANCE
MON
10AM to
12PM
TUE
10AM to
12PM
+ SEND session
WED
No
session
THU
No
session
FRI
10AM to
12PM
SAT
No
session
SUN
No
session
The floor is set up for little ones: soft footballs, plenty of space to run and explore, and, as our photo shows, bubbles, sensory light mats, a soft rocker and picture books. Parents get a free coffee with the booking, and there is a reading corner with comfy beanbags for when a toddler needs a calmer moment.
Toddler Mornings at Ball Park Brighton Marina, with bubbles, soft footballs and sensory play
Beyond the pitch floor there is a dedicated sensory space with mood tables, interactive floor busy boards, a bubble wall and immersive lighting, so a busy morning can slow down whenever a little one needs it to.
The sessions are led by Charlotte, wife of founder Aaron Stevens. She is an early years educator with a background in special educational needs, and Aaron says she leads the children in play just as they would experience it in a nursery. Compass Card holders receive a ten per cent discount and carers are admitted free of charge, and Tuesday mornings also host a dedicated SEND session from 10AM to 12PM. Book a Toddler Morning here.
The sensory room at Ball Park Brighton Marina
Kids Birthday Parties at the Marina
Ball Park runs three kids birthday party packages, from £240 to £400, each covering up to 12 children and each with full access to every activity on site. Ball Park's website lists its parties as 90 minutes long. Tap a package below to see exactly what the money buys.
Basic Party Package
Up to 12 kids · tap to see what you get£240
■Full access to every Ball Park activity
■Bring your own food, snacks or cake, at no extra cost
■Only the children taking part pay entry, so watching parents do not
■Extra children are £15 each
■Works out at £20 per child for a full party of 12
Party Plus Package
Up to 12 kids · tap to see what you get£340
■Full access to every Ball Park activity
■Pizzas and squash included
■Ball Park socks for the birthday child
■Bring your own cake if you like
■Extra children are £20 each
■Works out at about £28 per child for a full party of 12
Zorb Party Package
Up to 12 kids · tap to see what you get£400
■Zorb balls, listed by Ball Park for children aged 12 and over
■Extended two-hour party time
■Pizzas and squash included
■Ball Park socks for the birthday child
■Full access to every Ball Park activity
■Extra children are £20 each
■Works out at about £33 per child for a full party of 12
What can the kids actually play?
Tap to open the activity list
■The Precision Wall, a lit-up target wall for shooting accuracy and first touch
■The ICON Football Ring, built around deliberate practice and fast close control
■The Quick Pitch, an enclosed mini pitch for 1v1 and 2v2 games
■A ten-metre sprint lane and a speed radar to clock how hard you can strike the ball
■The Ronaldo header challenge
■The Omni dartboard, an interactive digital darts game
■Football pool tables on the games floor
■A wristband on arrival that tracks stats across the activities
The guest list does not have to stop at twelve: extra children are £15 each on the Basic package and £20 each on the other two. For comparison, a standard one-hour activity session is £13.50 per person.
Book a partySee all events and parties
Full details of each package are on Ball Park's kids parties page.
A birthday party room set up at Ball Park Brighton Marina
Stag, Hen and Group Party Packages
Ball Park calls itself an adults' playground too, and it has a party package to prove it: £300 for a group of 10, for 90 minutes, with a minimum of 10 people. Here is the bill as Ball Park's website sets it out, every line included in the price.
That works out at £30 a head, with football, a party table, a soundtrack and the clean-up all handled for you, and the stag or hen walks away with their own personalised socks. The two free drinks and the free shot are Ball Park's own additions to the package.
ALSO HOSTED AT BALL PARK
Birthday partiesCorporate eventsTeam-building experiencesGroup nights out
Groups who want a private room for the night can look at the VAR Room, or the Karaoke Party at £18 per person for two hours with a drink included, for groups of 8 to 15. Karaoke also runs all day, every day at the venue, as we showed on our Only in Brighton page. See the stag and hen party packages here.
Karaoke night at Ball Park Brighton Marina
Zorb Football: Bubble Football for Birthday Parties
The Zorb Party Package is Ball Park's top birthday option: £400 for up to 12 children aged 12 and over, with Zorb balls, pizzas and squash, Ball Park socks for the birthday child and, according to the venue's website, an extended two-hour party. Extra children are £20 each, and the package includes full access to all of Ball Park's activities.
Zorb football, also called bubble football, is exactly what it sounds like. Each player wears a giant inflatable bubble that covers their head and torso while their legs stay free to run and kick, and the ball is won by barging into each other rather than tackling. Teams are usually five or six players a side.
FROM NEW ZEALAND TO BRIGHTON MARINA · A SHORT HISTORY OF THE BUBBLE
1994
New Zealanders Andrew Akers and Dwane van der Sluis invent the modern zorb, a giant inflatable sphere to roll around in
2011
Norwegian comedians Henrik Elvestad and Johan Golden show bubble football on their TV show Golden Goal, reportedly as a joke
2014
The game has reached New Zealand, where the original zorbs were born
NOW
Brighton Marina: Ball Park's Zorb Party Package, £400 for up to 12 children
That mix is what makes it a good party format: the bubbles soak up the collisions, so everyone can crash around without worrying, and the group can then mix a bubble match with the tech arena before sitting down to pizza and squash at a football-themed party table. Book the Zorb Party Package here.
Zorb football at Ball Park Brighton Marina
Halloween and Christmas at Ball Park
Two Halloween Saturdays are in the diary, a five pound quiz for teams and an over-18s party that runs late, and Ball Park's Christmas party packages are now live with football, festive fun and plenty for the whole team to enjoy.
HALLOWEEN
SAT
10
OCT
Halloween Quiz Night
7:30pm start
Teams of 4 to 8£5 per personPrizes to be wonDrinks deals all night
What to expectTap to open
■General knowledge, football and Halloween-themed rounds
■Fancy dress is very much encouraged
■Book your table by direct message or at Ball Park
SAT
31
OCT
Adult Halloween Party
7pm until late
Adults only18 and overFancy dressBest costume wins a prize
Good to knowTap to open
■Halloween night itself, Saturday 31 October
■Come in costume if you dare, and the best costume wins a prize
■Fun games, challenges and competitions all night
■Over-18s only, and ID may be required
For the quiz, Ball Park says to message the team to book your table, or ask at Ball Park itself.
CHRISTMAS
There are three packages: the Elf Package at £19.95, the Mrs Claus Special at £25.95 and Santa's Special at £29.95, each priced per head and each with a BP gift included.
WHAT WOULD YOUR PARTY COST?
90 minutes of Christmas football, 30 minutes of pizza, pasta and soft drinks and a BP gift. Minimum 12 kids.
Slide to set the number of children. £29.95 each.
Ball Park's own post pitches the season more widely: work Christmas parties, nights out with friends and big festive celebrations, with sports and activities, karaoke, drinks and the bar, private party options and packages to suit your group. The package posters price each one for a minimum of 10 or 12 kids, so adult groups should ask the team what they can put together.
Ball Park's post says to get your squad together and book your preferred date, and to message the team to enquire. You can get in touch through the Ball Park contact page, or see all events and parties here.
A football-themed birthday party table at Ball Park Brighton Marina
What Brighton Is Saying About It
Ball Park sits at 5.0 on Google with 82 reviews. Reviewers talk about the venue, the tech, the staff and the parties, and here is a taste of what they say.
SWIPE TO READ MORE
THE VENUE
"Amazing venue, one to visit."
Google review
THE PLACE
"Brilliant place."
Google review
THE TECH
"Superb, not gimmicky."
Google review
THE STAFF
"Went above and beyond, would highly recommend."
Google review
THE PARTIES
A parent who booked a birthday party called it "wonderful" and said the team made the day.
Google review
One review mentions slow drink ordering during a busy session, so it is worth allowing a little extra time at peak hours.
Ball Park at Brighton Marina at sunset
Membership Packages
Ball Park runs two memberships, and both give you two hours a day, seven days a week. The difference is when you can come in and how much you pay.
PEAK MEMBERSHIP
£40
per month
■2 hours per day
■7 days a week
OFF-PEAK MEMBERSHIP
£35
per month
■2 hours per day, 10am to 12pm or 6pm to 8pm
■7 days a week
■Term-time only
Founder Aaron Stevens says keeping Ball Park affordable and accessible for everyone is one of its core aims. Gift vouchers are also on offer for anyone who would rather give the experience than book a session.
Ball Park members get two hours a day on the pitch floor
How to Find Ball Park
Ball Park is at Unit 1, Upper Boardwalk, Brighton Marina, BN2 5WA. Ball Park's own contact page says you will find it behind Pizza Express, or you can go up the stairs by Globalls.
FIND US
Unit 1, Upper Boardwalk, Brighton Marina, BN2 5WA. Behind Pizza Express, or up the stairs by Globalls.
CALL
OPEN
Monday to Thursday, 10am to 11pm
Friday and Saturday, 10am to midnight
Sunday, 10am to 10pm
The Ball Park signs on the building at Brighton Marina, next to Globalls
Booking and Getting There
Sessions, parties and events all book through Ball Park's booking page, and the team are on the phone if you would rather ask first.
Book a sessionballparkbtn.co.uk
Parking and access
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■Visit Brighton lists free parking at Brighton Marina, with time restrictions
■Amaze Sussex says there are ramps and lifts up to the first level
■Blue badge parking is in the Marina multi-storey car park
■Amaze Sussex also lists two hours free in the Asda car park
The Ball Park sign above the entrance at Brighton Marina
What Is Coming Up at Ball Park
Two Halloween dates are already fixed, both on a Saturday, and Ball Park's poster for the quiz says to book your table now.
SAT
10
OCT
Halloween Quiz Night
7:30pm, £5 per person, teams of 4 to 8
SAT
31
OCT
Adult Halloween Party
7pm until late, 18 and over
Ball Park has also put its Christmas party packages live. Its post says to message the team to enquire, or to check its recent posts for the full package details.
The best way to see what Ball Park has built is to book a session, bring a group and play.
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