The Irish people love their sports, and you can’t be one if you’re not a fan of at least one team. Whether you’re a football, cricket, or hockey fan, the locals love sports so much that it has become a part of everyone’s lifestyle in Belfast.
As a sports fan, you’re always on the lookout for merchandise. And since Ireland is a sport-loving country, you can find the best sports shops in all cities including Belfast.
If you’re in dire need of sports equipment or apparel, you’ve come to the right place. We’re listing down some of the locals’ favourite sports shops in the city.
Top Sports Shops in Belfast
We’re reviewing the top sports shop in Belfast using the following criteria:
1. O’Neills Sports Superstore Belfast City Centre
| Variety and availability | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Convenience of location | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Customer reviews | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Value for money | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
O’Neills Sports Superstore Belfast City Centre is one of the most accessible sports shops in Belfast. It’s located in the city centre, so you don’t have to worry about accessibility, travel time, and transportation.
Another good thing about the shop is that it houses a lot of brands and products. So whatever sport you’re looking for, they probably have all the equipment and apparel you need.
Also, we love that it’s a well-organised shop–you can easily find where the sports goodies for men, women, and children are located. The in-store staff are also very friendly and helpful, so you can ask them anything if you need their help.
This goes the same for the store’s online shop. If you don’t have time to go to the physical store, you can easily order online—they have an easy checkout process so you won’t have a hard time even if you’re not a frequent online shopper!
The pricing is fair as well, which is one of the reasons some customers we talked to kept coming back! It’s one of those shops whose product quality matches the price so you’ll get your money’s worth.
Sometimes though, O’Neills doesn’t have all the sizes, so it can be pretty inconvenient to customers who took time to visit the store. We recommend calling the shop in advance to check for sizes or reserve products.
Also, when you visit during weekends, you’ll probably notice that the store is understaffed. So if it’s during peak hours, expect delays in service.
Pros
- Helpful staff
- Fair pricing
- Has a wide range of sports products
- Well-organised store
- Located in Belfast city centre
- Nice ambience
- Easy online shopping experience
Cons
- Understaffed on weekends
- Not all sizes for apparel are available
Customer Reviews
Helpful staff
Very friendly and helpful, even though I didn’t get what I was looking for and they even checked other stores for my item—Bertzilla 2018, Google Reviews
Accessible to everyone
Really good O’Neill’s store. Don’t miss it if you like GAA and are in Belfast city centre— John Campbell, Google Reviews
2. Life Style Sports
| Variety and availability | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Convenience of location | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Customer reviews | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Value for money | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
Life Style Sports is a large sports shop in Victoria Square. So if you’re around the area, the shop isn’t hard to find, making it convenient for most shoppers!
One thing we love about this particular sports shop is that it’s a large shop so it houses a lot of brands. Some of the customers told us they love how the shop always has stocks available regardless of the brand or type of sports equipment or apparel.
If you don’t have time to visit the physical store, you can always order online as well. We love that the website is well-organised so you won’t have a hard time navigating it and getting what you want.
Another thing we love about Life Style Sports is that the staff will really go way out of their job just to be able to assist you. One customer told us how the staff didn’t stop calling suppliers until her desired shoes were available for her.
To us, this is great customer service! Even if the shoes couldn’t be available, any customer would appreciate the fact that the store did its best to try and get them that.
The pricing is reasonable even though the store looks like everything is expensive! In fact, Life Style Sports also gives discounts to students, making it a popular choice among younger sports enthusiasts.
The only complaint we have about the store is that sometimes, the staff are nowhere to be found. They had to wait for a few minutes before they were attended to.
Also, we think the fitting rooms need more maintenance. Having a nice area where you can fit clothes is a part of customer satisfaction, so they’ll appreciate a better fitting room.
Pros
- Large and well-organised store
- Great range of sports products
- Helpful staff who make great recommendations
- Gives a student discount
- Reasonable prices
- Accessible
Cons
- Slow service
- Fitting rooms need more maintenance
Customer Reviews
Offers a wide range of sports products
The best sports store in Belfast! I had been to several stores to try to find new running shoes two days in I a row I was about to give up, but I saw this store and went in. It was very fancy so it thought it would be expensive but nope! Great range of products to an adorable price. I also got help from this lovely woman working there to find the perfect running shoes for me, she was lovely and the service was great! I was also told they had a student discount, I didn’t even have to ask for it! I will be back in the future, very satisfied customer!—Michelle B, Google Reviews
Wide range of products with reasonable prices
A good selection of sportswear at very reasonable prices—George Flynn, Google Reviews
3. Podium 4 Sport Ltd
| Variety and availability | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Convenience of location | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Customer reviews | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Value for money | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
If you ask us what makes Podium 4 Sport Ltd stand out, it’s the wide range of products it offers. If you’re looking for a store that has it all, then we recommend paying this one a visit!
For one, the store offers all types of equipment like boxing equipment, yoga and pilates, bikes, gym equipment, and training kits among others. It also offers apparel and accessories for almost all types of sports, making it a one-stop stop for us!
We love that the store is spacious and has a strategic layout, making it easy for you to locate the apparel or equipment you need. Also, just in case you can’t find them, just approach one of the staff to help you.
Speaking of the staff, they’re good at what they do. In fact, some customers attested to this and told us if you have any inquiries about the product, the staff would be able to answer them expertly.
This is an advantage to those who are very meticulous when buying their sports goodies. You can have all the information you need to help you decide on your purchase.
There are days when the store is understaffed though. Expect to wait longer before you can get assisted.
Also, it has repair services for the equipment you bought. We think this is pretty convenient for you just in case some parts malfunction because you don’t have to go somewhere else to have it checked or fixed.
One downside though is that it’s more expensive than other sports shops. If you have a limited budget, this might be a problem for you.
Pros
- Attentive and knowledgeable staff
- Has repair services
- Good and reliable brands
- Well-organised layout
- Huge store with a wide range of sports products
- Plenty of parking spaces
Cons
- More expensive than other sports shop
- Understaffed on some days
Customer Reviews
Knowledgeable staff
Great selection of sports gear, really good brands. Staff absolutely know their stuff—Angela Mawhinneyi, Google Reviews
Offers repair services
I’ve had an excellent experience with this bike shop and service center. The staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and always ready to help. Their repair services are top-notch, and they consistently go above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction. I’ve never been disappointed with their work. Highly recommended!—Lop, Google Reviews
4. Decathlon
| Variety and availability | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Convenience of location | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Customer reviews | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Value for money | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
Decathlon is probably one of the largest sports shops in Belfast, which is why it’s one of the go-to shops in the city if you need anything sports-related. It’s located in Exchange Retail Park which houses other retail stores as well.
In terms of distance, it’s quite far from Belfast city centre. However, due to the park being a commercial are, there are plenty of conveniences you can find there, so we think it’s worth the three-mile travel.
Decathlon is a huge sports shop, so you can immediately conclude even without entering the place yet that it houses a wide range of sporting goods. But what we love most is that it doesn’t seem to run out of stocks—everything’s always available!
We love how reliable the in-store staff are as well. They know everything about their products and inventory, so whatever inquiry you have, they can all answer!
The store itself is very organised, with sporting goods arranged in sections. So even if you went there to just look around, it’ll be easier for you to locate what interests you.
The customers we talked to also told us that for such a reliable store, the sporting goods aren’t that expensive. Whatever budget you have, you can find a brand or a product that can meet your limit!
Decathlon doesn’t have an online store though, so you would really need to visit the brick-and-mortar store. To make sure your travel time won’t go to waste, we recommend calling first if the shop has what you’re looking for.
Pros
- Large shop
- Plenty of parking spaces
- Houses a wide range of sporting goods
- Plenty of stocks
- Friendly and helpful staff
- Organised and spacious
- Houses a variety of outdoor sports goods
- Fair pricing
Cons
- Doesn’t have an online store
- Phone sometimes remains unanswered
Customer Reviews
Easy to find what you need
Great service. No problem finding what we were looking for. Very helpful personnel! We’ll be back—Antonia Lovell, Google Reviews
Great selection of sports and outdoor sports goodies
Very nice staff. Helpful and approachable. There is vast selection of sports and camping supplies. Value for money is 100%—Amavic Joy Montuya, Google Reviews
5. JD Sports
| Variety and availability | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Convenience of location | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Customer reviews | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Value for money | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
When we asked some of the regular customers of JD Sports what they love the most about the sports shop, they all agreed it’s the regular sales promo. JDSpots often have sales, which keeps customers interested.
JD Sports is known for its wide range of training shoes, casual sportswear, and accessories. We love that it has a great selection of sports goodies for fans and players of all ages, and the good thing about it is that it doesn’t seem to run out of stock.
Another thing we love is that it has an online shop with an easy order system. So if you can’t visit the physical store, you can simply go to the website and order what you need.
The best thing about this is that the inventory on the website is updated, so you don’t have to worry about orders being canceled. There’s even a free standard delivery if you meet the minimum purchase requirements.
One of the complaints we heard though is that sometimes busy hours are too much for the staff. They seem to get confused and are slower to assist customers, which can be a little off to some.
Also, sometimes the phone just keeps ringing. This can chase customers away especially if they want more information about the sports goods they need, but they can’t get it right away.
Pros
- Has a great selection of training shoes, casual sportswear, and accessories.
- Hosts regular online sales promos
- Easy online order system
- Free standard delivery upon minimum purchase requirements
- Great selection for sports fans of all ages
Cons
- Staff are sometimes slow to respond during busy hours
- Phone inquiries are not answered sometimes
- A little pricey
Customer Reviews
Has sports goods available for all ages
Really helpful and friendly professional staff, plenty of choice for all the family—Eileen Jamison, Google Reviews
Free parking
Great location. Very large store with unlimited free parking!—Carolann Mcallister, Google Reviews