Big changes in Bristol – centre improvements

Exciting changes are on the horizon at in TCA Bristol as we upgrade both Bristol centres! Find out how we aim to transform our spaces this year.

What’s new?

As we trailed recently, we have lots of plans in place to upgrade our Bristol centres, to give you top of the range facilities. Here’s an outline of the changes:

The Mothership

Starting in June this year an exciting new area will be built upstairs. This will flip the entrance to the centre. After completion, visitors will arrive via a new bright and airy entrance upstairs. From here they will enter an impressive new building within a building containing an insulated, chalk-free reception, cafe, shop and cool mezzanine viewing platform – which will be equally great for coffees and comps! We hope to finish this phase 1 development by December 2024.

During this work there will be disruption to the campus board and gym. Here are a few key dates:

• From 3 June the campus board area will be dismantled. The campus rungs will be out of action throughout but we plan to relocate the fingerboards downstairs.
• From 10 June (approx) the gym will start to be dismantled. We are going to try and accommodate as much of the current gym equipment (including weights and cardio) in other parts of the centre (or temporarily in other centres. We’ll share more on this in due course.
• There will inevitably be a few periods where we have to close off the upstairs climbing but these will be limited and we will aim to give you as much notice as possible.

In other huge news – Phase 2 (which we don’t yet have timing for) will see the complete refurbishment of our downstairs bouldering area with purpose-built walls and a new layout and training boards from Walltopia, a much-requested Kilter Board, a lift between all 3 floors and the transformation of the old cafe/reception into a brand new custom-built gym.

The Church

Following on from last year’s re-panelling and cafe upgrade, improvements continue at The Church. The bouldering room has been under-utilised for some time so it is getting a radical makeover this summer to create a high quality training room. The old walls will be removed and the space opened up more. We are installing a 40 degree 2024 Moonboard and a Digital Training Board Woody, which will be around 20-30 degrees.

We don’t expect any disruption to roped climbing, only the downstairs bouldering room:

• Work will commence on 13 May.
• Part of The Mezz may be used to store the bouldering mats.

We hope that the brand spanking new training room will be ready to use by mid-late July – expanding our training facilities across Bristol. So if you are dedicated to the woody at The Mothership but live closer to The Church, you will be able to use your pass to have a training session closer to home. Plus this will provide another great option for training while work is carried out at The Mothership.

One pass, 3 centres

For pass-holders, this is the perfect opportunity to explore and enjoy our other Southwest centres: The Church, The Mothership and The Arc – using your pass to its fullest. The TCA pass is still the best value pass in Bristol. We’re really excited about the upgrades. We know that they will make your TCA experience even better. Can’t wait to share them with you!