New sport and physical activity complex creates 90 jobs in Stirling
– £27 million The Peak development is the largest project of its kind in the Stirling area for 30 years.
3 April 2009
Stirling’s largest single phase sport and leisure development for more than 30 years was officially opened earlier today (Friday, April 3rd), creating 90 new jobs in the process.
The Peak indoor sports complex, is the latest addition to the Stirling Sports Village development at Forthbank, and has already been accepted as an official training centre for the London 2012 Olympics with discussions underway for similar status with Glasgow’s 2014 Commonwealth Games.
With partnership funding through Stirling Council, the Scottish Government and sportscotland, and managed through Active Stirling, The Peak will play a major role sport and leisure provision in the Stirling area and includes:
- A 25 metre/six-lane swimming pool•
- Children’s training pool/leisure pool
- A six-sheet Ice Rink
- A nine-court Sports Hall
- A 12-metre climbing wall
- Health and Fitness facilities including aerobic/dance studios and gym
- Cafe and licensed restaurant facilities
The complex will also operate alongside the existing five-a-side football facilities; third generation football/rugby pitch and international class water-based hockey pitch which form the Sports Village at Forthbank.
Active Stirling officials are expecting the new facilities to attract in excess of 500,000 visitors annually generating an anticipated spend of £1.8 million.
Stirling Provost, Councillor Fergus Wood was joined by leading tennis coach, Judy Murray for the opening and feels the development will have real benefits for all involved:
"I would like to thank the people of Stirling for their patience but now it gives me great pleasure to see Stirling's new sports village open. A new generation will have access to top quality complex, that will benefit everyone from Stirling and the surrounding areas,” he said.
“The combination of the wonderful facilities at Stirling's Sports Village and the National Centre of Excellence for Sport at the University of Stirling make the City a truly world-class centre of sport.
“This is going to further enhance Stirling's sporting reputation and will serve Scotland in good stead in the run-up to the Olympics in 2012 and the Commonwealth Games in 2014."
The two-year construction programme has been completed on time and on budget and Judy was impressed by the level of facilities available at The Peak for all levels of athlete.
“The Peak is a tremendous addition to the sporting environment in Stirling and I have been hugely impressed with the way in which the complex has been developed and shaped to offer those who want to participate in sport the opportunity to do so at a level which suits their abilities,” she added.
“The whole Stirling Sports Village complex really puts the city on the sporting map and I’m delighted to see Stirling Council and the Active Stirling team investing in the future of physical activity and giving people the support they need to emulate their sporting heroes”.
Active Stirling officials have already held productive talks with key Scottish sports organisations on usage agreements for the new facility and expect the range of sports available at The Peak to include, basketball, indoor hockey, ice hockey, ice skating, indoor cricket, volleyball, netball, badminton, boccia, swimming and climbing in addition to the variety of exercise, dance and training classes normally associated with a development of this scale.
“Interest in the new complex has already been substantial,” said Active Stirling Chair, Chris Donegan. “We have attracted upwards of 800 new members and with Scottish Basketball, the elite Scottish Triathlon team and Scottish Hockey all keen to use the facilities on a regular basis we are confident The Peak will deliver for competitors at all levels.
“Our ambition was to raise the bar in terms of leisure provision for Stirling and to give the community a facility to be proud of and I believe we have taken a huge step towards achieving those goals”.
Stewart Harris, Chief Executive of sportscotland said: “We are delighted that The Peak indoor sports complex is now open and ready for action. The whole Stirling Sports Village project, including the pitches which were completed in late 2007, is part of the Scottish Government’s National and Regional Sports Facilities Strategy and received an investment of £2.5 million through sportscotland. It is the first of the National and Regional facilities to be completed.
“I am sure that these wonderful facilities will encourage participation in sport and physical activity locally, as well as supporting our elite athletes and those with the aspiration to compete at a higher level.”
The complex will also be one of the most cost effective developments of its kind in the UK. For example, energy used in the ice making process is to be re-routed back to heat the 25 metre swimming pool and the insulation throughout the building is of the highest possible specification.