sportscotland unveil new £20 million National and Regional Facilities Investment

The national agency for sport has identified a number of areas in Scotland which can benefit from improved facilities and will work closely with its partners in local authorities and Scottish Governing Bodies of sport to help deliver new projects.

This new investment strand will result in large multi-purpose sports facilities, which will enhance the existing network of national and regional sports facilities across Scotland.

These new facilities will be available for communities to use as well as performance athletes at regional and national levels.

On the eve of Glasgow 2014 - the largest multi-sport event in Scotland’s history - sporting facilities in the country are the best they have ever been and are set to improve even further.

A number of centres of sporting excellence are already in place across Scotland, including Aberdeen Sports Village, the Emirates Arena, Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, and Tollcross Acquatics Centre in Glasgow, Dundee’s Dick McTaggart Gymnastics Centre and Olympia swimming centre, Edinburgh’s Royal Commonwealth Pool, The PEAK in Stirling, and the Ravenscraig Regional Facility in Motherwell.

These excellent facilities resulted from sportscotland’s previous investment of £44.3 million, as part of the National Regional Sports Facilities Strategy, complementing some £300 million capital investment from our partners in local authorities.

In addition, Scotland’s £30 million National Performance Centre for Sport will be completed by 2016 at Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University campus.

Today’s £20 million facilities announcement will be prioritised in areas identified as requiring improvements, ensuring more athletes have access to high quality sports facilities and services.

Highland, Tayside & Fife, Ayrshire, East (Edinburgh), Stirling, and the Scottish Borders have been identified as areas which could benefit from this strategy.

Outlining details of this new facilities investment strand, sportscotland Chief Executive Stewart Harris said:

“We have capitalised on Glasgow 2014 by accelerating our plans for a world-class sporting system at every level thanks to National Lottery and Scottish Government funding, and today’s £20 million investment announcement is a significant milestone in delivering even more excellent sporting facilities for the people of Scotland and performance athletes to use.

“The standards of facilities in Scotland are the best they have ever been, and today we are outlining a new investment stream which will further enhance the existing network.

“The National and Regional Facilities Investment will provide more and better opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to take part in sport and physical activity.

Welcoming today’s announcement, the Cabinet Secretary for the Commonwealth Games and Sport, Shona Robison, said:

“Investing in new multi-purpose sports centres will open up even more opportunities for people to try new sports and lead healthier and more active lives. Scotland already enjoys world-class facilities and with just days until the Commonwealth Games begin, this £20 million pound investment demonstrates our long term ambitions for sport.

“We are committed to making Scotland a healthier nation, from helping people of all ages to enjoy sport to supporting athletes to compete at the highest level. By working with local authorities and sporting bodies, the National and Regional Facilities Fund will create a lasting legacy from the Games for years to come.”

Depute Leader of The Highland Council, Councillor David Alston said: “The Highland Council and partners High Life Highland welcome this funding announcement by sportscotland for regional facilities which align directly with the Council’s priorities, which include developing a regional sports hub for the Highlands. The Council has ambitions to develop this sports hub as part of the Inverness West Link developments at Torvean and Ness-side and have commissioned High Life Highland to undertake a feasibility study for the facility. Future detailed proposals outlining the council’s options, with support from sportscotland, will be presented to The Highland Council for consideration.”

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