National Lottery players are continuing to have a seismic impact on Scotland’s sporting infrastructure, helping build hundreds of sports venues, providing jobs in the sector and allowing hundreds of thousands of Scots to take part in sport.
Since The National Lottery began in 1994, 857 sport facilities projects have received National Lottery funding through sportscotland, the national agency for sport.
Those awards totalled £132,733,292 and when other investment from local partners is factored in, over £610million has been invested in those projects over the last 30 years, helping to maintain existing facilities and create new homes for sport and physical activity across the country. From hundreds of grassroots clubs to arenas that have hosted some of the world’s best athletes, The National Lottery has played a key role in building Scotland’s sporting estate.
Forbes Dunlop, Chief Executive of sportscotland, said:
"National Lottery investment has had a monumental impact on Scottish sport. So many of Scotland’s sporting venues, whether it’s arenas that host top level competition, or facilities which grassroots clubs call home, wouldn’t exist without National Lottery investment and our local partners.
“I’d like to thank National Lottery players for their continued support of Scottish sport.”
On Tuesday 19 November, The National Lottery celebrated its 30th birthday by announcing £50 billion has been raised for good causes over the three decades.
Thanks to National Lottery players, more than £30million is raised every week for good causes, funding over 700,000 projects across community, heritage, sport and the arts in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Projects like Glasgow’s Emirates Arena, which opened in 2012 and has since seen over 3.3million visitors. The indoor arena and velodrome has hosted the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, Great Britain Davis Cup ties featuring the Murray brothers, the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships and countless local and national events across a range of sports. The arena will also be a host venue when the Commonwealth Games returns to Glasgow in 2026.
The arena received £9,770,000 in National Lottery funding via sportscotland, with the total cost coming to £113m.
The Regional Performance Centre in Dundee was opened in 2019, providing a state-of-the-art facility for sport that local grassroots clubs utilise as well professional clubs and governing bodies. The Caird Park centre boasts full size indoor and outdoor World Rugby and FIFA accredited 3G pitches, an eight court multi-sports hall, sport science facilities, a performance suite, indoor and outdoor running tracks and an outdoor velodrome.
From April 2023 to March 2024 there were over 440,000 attendances. The indoor artificial pitch has proved invaluable to senior professional sides over winter months with Dundee, Dundee United, Dunfermline and St Johnstone all using the centre. The site is home to a large number of sporting organisations including sportscotland institute of sport staff and supported athletes, Basketball Scotland’s Regional Academy, Scottish Rugby Caledonia squads, Dundee FC Academy, Dundee United FC Academy, Montrose FC, Brechin FC, Peterhead FC, Tayside Dynamo’s Powerchair football club, Tayside Musketeers Senior Men and the Dundee Netball League.
The centre has also played host to a number of international and national competitions and training squad sessions across a range of sports including karate, basketball, gymnastics, athletics, cycling, boxing, touch rugby, powerchair football and ultimate frisbee.
In addition, its meeting rooms and conference facilities are regularly used to deliver coach and officials education courses, workshops and conferences.
The £32million centre received £6.5million in National Lottery funding through sportscotland, with the rest of the funding coming from Dundee City Council and the European Regional Development Fund.
Judy Dobbie, Managing Director of Leisure & Culture Dundee, said:
“Dundee’s Regional Performance Centre has become an inspirational hub for supporting athletes at all levels, from grassroots to performance, helping them achieve their full potential locally and beyond.
"Made possible with the help of National Lottery, Dundee City Council funding and European funding, it has become the venue we hoped it would be and we are grateful to everyone who has contributed towards its success.”
As the first venue to host the Commonwealth Games twice, in 1970 and 1986, Meadowbank has been steeped in Scottish sporting history for over 50 years.
Work on the new Meadowbank Sports Centre was completed in 2022, ensuring the Edinburgh venue would remain at heart of the local community for years to come. It provides a home for a host of sports and activies with a state-of-the-art gym, Evolve Hyrox gym, two fitness studios, cycle studio, three games halls, squash courts, 3G sport pitches and indoor and outdoor athletics tracks.
Additionally, there is a hospitality suite, judges and press room, a café and a boxing hall, which is home to Lee McGregor’s training camp in preparation for him fighting on the Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury undercard. Meadowbank welcomes 15,000 gym users and 4,500 fitness class users per month, and has a coaching programme of athletics, basketball and multi-sports with 350 participants.
It has hosted events such as its grassroots annual Festive Gymnastics Display, where more than 800 gymnasts and cheerleaders from six Edinburgh Leisure venues, plus guest clubs, come together. The 2024 Scottish Open Snooker will take place at Meadowbank from December 9-15.
The project received £5million of National Lottery funding through sportscotland towards the £47million centre, which is owned by the City of Edinburgh Council.
Rachael McCrea, Head of Funding at Edinburgh Leisure said:
“From serving up funding for six new all-weather outdoor courts at our flagship tennis centre at Craiglockhart to our fantastic facility at Meadowbank to our new bouldering facilities at the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, we’re incredibly grateful for the support of the National Lottery and sportscotland.
"It has allowed us to continually deliver opportunities for everyone to be active across Edinburgh. It really has been a game changer for us.”
