Scotland’s £32.9m Oriam to welcome elite basketball, netball and handball

Three sports governing bodies – Basketball Scotland, Netball Scotland and Scottish Handball – have signed up to use the nation’s £32.9m (US$47m, €41.2m) Oriam national sports centre for training and events.

From August 2016 onwards, when the ambitious facility is due to be completed, each sport will use Oriam’s sports hall for national training and occasional matches.

The three organisations are the latest sporting bodies to commit to using the facilities. The Scottish Football Association, Scottish Rugby and Scottish Squash and Racquetball have already signed up.

To coincide with the announcement, Glasgow Rocks basketball team captain Kieron Achara, Scottish Thistle National netball athlete Jo Pettit and Team GB’s handball captain at London 2012, Lynn McCafferty, visited the centre.

The Edinburgh-based facility is being built in the city’s Heriot-Watt University campus, and once complete Oriam will be a multi-sports centre with a full-sized indoor pitch with seating for 500 spectators, grass and synthetic outdoor pitches, a strength and conditioning centre, a high performance medical centre and hydrotherapy pool, fitness centre and studio, and a 12-court sports hall with 300 seats.

“Not only will Oriam be home to high performance athletes, such as Kieron, Lynn and Jo, but it will also be a centre for everybody in the nation,” said Orian chief executive Catriona McAllister. “Schools, community clubs and Heriot-Watt students will all benefit from the high-performance facility, as will performance teams and athletes in a wide range of sports.”

The £32.9m funding for Oriam comes from four channels: £24m (US$34.3m, €30m) from the Scottish government; £2.5m (US$3.6m, €3.1m) from sportscotland; £4m (US$5.7m, €5m) from Heriot-Watt University; and £2.7m (US$3.9m, €3.4m) from the City of Edinburgh Council.