Olympic champion curler Eve Muirhead is launching The Courier’s campaign to protect Perth’s leisure facilities for future generations.
Plans are under way at Perth and Kinross Council to merge the city’s Dewars Centre, Perth Leisure Pool and Bell’s Sports Centre into one complex.
We at The Courier, alongside Eve, want to see a flagship facility capable of catering for families as well as top level athletes.
A rejected first proposal from the local authority would have seen ice-rink and leisure facilities axed from the new venue.
With fresh plans to come forward in August, we want to ensure the opportunity is seized to build Perth a leisure centre to be proud of.
Take our survey below and have your say on what you want to see in a new facility.
‘Perth is known for curling’
Eve, a gold medallist at the Beijing Olympics in 2022, has travelled the world playing the sport she loves.
She says that no matter where you go within the curling community, Perth is known as the Scottish home of the sport.
“You look at Perth and you do see it as the home of curling in Scotland,” Eve said.
“All over the world Perth is known for curling.
“It’s hosted many major events over the years and to lose a curling facility in such an iconic city would mean, for the community and for curling in general, we would lose the game.”
Great facilities create future champions
The Olympic champion believes access to high level facilities is what gives Perth its prominence in the curling world.
Without it, Eve fears young players would no longer be able to play the sport.
Mili Smith, the alternate on Eve’s Olympic winning team, also came through the ranks at Dewars.
“You would lose a lot of curlers from the sport, we would lose grassroots,” Eve told The Courier.
“If you look at how many juniors come up through Perth over the years and then go on to produce World and European medals – there’s a lot of them.
“That’s not going to automatically continue without the facilities.”
A good facility will showcase all sports
It’s not just curling that a new flagship leisure centre should cater for and Eve believes an ambitious venue should be built to help sport in general, including swimming.
It could also help bring major events to the city.
“If Perth can produce a facility that is able to host events then that is how you showcase the sport in that area,” she said.
“If you look at sport in general in Perth, we obviously have the swimming, we have racket sports at Bell’s and I also think fitness facilities are important.
“You want a facility that accommodates (all of them) and where you’re allowed to do a variety of sports within one complex.”
The Olympic champion points to the PEAK centre in Stirling as how this can be achieved.
“We’ve seen how successful that has been over last few years with facilities that have opened,” she added.
“Under one roof you’ve got curling, you’ve got courts, you’ve got swimming and you’ve got gym and studios.
“These kind of complexes have shown they are capable of producing a lot of great things, keeping people in touch with their mental health when it comes to fitness and their physical health.
“It’s just got so many benefits.”
Fight to keep facilities alive
The original plan to axe ice-rink and leisure swimming facilities within a new sports complex came just two years after Eve and her teammates tasted Olympic victory.
The curler says she was saddened that instead of the city building on her famous win she was no fighting just to keep the facilities open.
“It seems completely U-turning and going the wrong way,” she told The Courier.
“Myself and my team get the Freedom of Perth for getting that gold medal and then they’re closing the facilities – to me that doesn’t make sense.
“We got the gold medal and on the back of that I would loved to have showcased the sport, developed the sport, got more people involved in the sport.
“What more could I have done as an athlete than win the Olympic games to help push the sport forward.
“It’s sad that if anything we’re questioning keeping the facility alive – but hopefully we can keep fighting.”
Council response
Perth and Kinross Council confirmed new plans will come forward in August.
A spokesperson for the local authority said: “PH20 was paused by the Council in 2022 for affordability reasons.
“We are currently preparing a revised project scope together with Live Active Leisure to ensure PH20 can be achieved in an affordable and sustainable way and Council will consider officers’ recommendations on this in August.”
Conversation