Business case for Regional Sports Hub submitted
24th August 2016
A business case for the council's proposal for a regional sports hub has been submitted to the council's finance service.
Councillors agreed in March 2015 to progress an ambitious Regional Sports Facility for the Highlands, which could include a significant contribution by Sportscotland to the project.
Highland Council agreed funding in September 2015 of up to £150,000 to develop detailed designs and costings for a Regional Sports Facility. The project planning was taken forward in line with the Council's Programme commitment to work with partners to progress the delivery of a regional sports facility for the Highlands in Inverness incorporating indoor cycling, tennis, athletics, judo and gymnastics as part of our aim of promoting the Highlands as a great place to live, work and visit.
The venue would also be capable of hosting major exhibitions, conferences and concerts with a capacity of around 3000 people using the infield area.
The Project Board includes representation from Sportscotland and High Life Highland.
Leader of The Highland Council, Cllr Margaret Davidson said: "We have ambitious plans for the future of the Highlands and we are right to be ambitious. We want to have excellent sports facilities that will be available for all of Highland’s young people to perform their best.
"Just look at the wonderful success of Team GB in the Rio Olympics! Congratulations to all those involved, particularly our own Stephen Milne scooping a silver medal for swimming and Inverness rower Alan Sinclair’s success in coming 4th and narrowly missing a medal. In order for our future generations to succeed they need the best possible facilities and opportunities.
"We have already invested in new facilities for rugby and golf as part of our West Link project. Our plans for a state of the art regional sports centre, with velodrome, indoor tennis, gymnastics, athletics and judo would be a fantastic asset to the Highlands. It would be an investment in our young people’s future and would also create jobs and stimulate inward investment with conferences and sports tourism.
“Olympic medal winners never got anywhere without being ambitious! So let us be ambitious!"
The business case will be considered as part of the Council’ Capital Programme review at its meeting in October.
Related Businesses
Related Articles
Caledonia North Offshore Wind Farm - construction and operation of an offshore wind farm comprising up to 77 turbines with a maximum blade tip height of 355m, subsea interconnector and export cabling and associated infrastructure. The north planning committee of Highland council will decide today 6 August 2025.
Following the high winds forecast and experienced due to Storm Floris, The Highland Council is encouraging landowners to check trees and vegetation near to public roads which may have been damaged. Landowners are also asked to check the drainage from their property that it is not blocked and overflowing onto public roads.
Representatives from across the Highlands are being invited to a meeting that will focus on the current provision and future of Community Transport. The event, organised and hosted by The Highland Council, will take place at Council HQ in Inverness on Wednesday 13 August.
Young people in the Highlands can call a dedicated helpline offering expert advice to anyone receiving their full Higher, National, and Advanced results on Tuesday, 5 August 2025. The pupils and students- along with their parents and carers - will be able to get support with their results through Skills Development Scotland's (SDS) Results Helpline, which opens from 8am on results day.
Wick Business Park has welcomed wind energy technology company ENERCON as the first occupant of one of four new units completed last year. ENERCON specialises in designing, producing, installing and servicing onshore wind turbines and has been operating in the Caithness area since 2013.
Additional empty homes officers are being recruited to bring more privately owned houses back into use. The new posts are being supported as part of a £2 million investment through the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership in 2025-26 which will see staff take a more proactive and targeted approach to tackling local housing issues.
The Highland Strategic Local Action Group (LAG) met in June 2025 and considered and agreed funding for 28 projects submitted to the Community-Led Local Development fund (CLLD), which makes up part of The Highland Council Community Regeneration Fund (CRF) programme. CRF is an umbrella term used to cover multiple external funding programmes administered by The Highland Council.
Highland Council has provided 12 ‘Talking Tub' resources for use in primary schools across the Highlands, in partnership with Union Technical who deliver community benefits as part of the Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Scheme programme. Chair of Highland Council's Education Committee, Councillor John Finlayson, said: "This is a fantastic initiative being rolled out across Highland primary schools which brings innovation and inspiration to early years children.
Visitors will find it easier to dispose of their litter at several popular spots across Highland after the rollout of additional bins. The rollout has been planned to support the tourism season as part of the Council's ongoing commitment to improve and support sustainable tourism in the area.
Members of the meeting of The Highland Council (26 June 2025) have considered and agreed the Accounts Commission's Best Value report, which was published in April 2025 and highlights organisational improvements across leadership, performance management and community engagement. In April’s report, the Accounts Commission recognised and welcomed significant progress within the organisation since the 2020 Best Value Assurance Report (BVAR) and commended the embedded culture of transformation.