"The Big Pitch"

[Snakebite]

http://scottishfa.co.uk/resources/documents/Facilities/4000-SFA Big Pitch FINAL.pdf

Does anyone know what is going in Scotland just now in terms of new facility developments or is there actually nothing at all?

In terms of major projects, "The Big Pitch", a 42 page spiel document from the SFA in 2013 on facilities highlights the National Performance Centre in Edinburgh which has since been completed and nothing else highlighted in the pipeline. Even then new facilities on a medium scale don't seem to be given a mention.

 

[Bundesliga Boy]

Good post.

The National Performance Centre became our 4th indoor facility with a full size pitch, others being Toryglen, Ravenscraig (Motherwell) and Aberdeen Sports Village.

A new full size indoor facility is very much in the pipeline for Caird Park in Dundee, and its anticipated this will be built by December 2017. (link below)

http://www.scottishconstructionnow.com/10336/preparatory-works-tender-for-proposed-dundee-sports-facility/

At the very least we can now say that by 2017/18 our 4 major cities will all have a state of the art full size indoor facility.  The Sunday Mail has been running a campaign with suggestions on how to improve the game.  Facilitieswise, their main recommendation focussed around having 10 indoor academies.  By next year we'll have reached the halfway stage.  5 more anytime soon during times of austerity is sadly a pipe dream but in time with the aid of local and national government combined with the help of Sportscotland, hopefully this goal can be achieved by 2030 at the latest.

 

Back to 'The Big Pitch' that you referred too and whilst one of their recommendations focussed on these academies, their other main objective centred around the installation of a new network of high quality, high capacity floodlit artificial 3G pitches.  This is an ongoing work in progress and since the inception of The Big Pitch in 2013, a large number of pitches have already been laid including at football grounds, new schools, sports centres etc etc with many more in the pipeline.

It would be helpful if the SFA could do a report reviewing The Big Pitch in four years time as it tied in nicely with "Scotland United: A 2020 Vision" and I'm sure many would value an update on how far we have come in upgrading our facilities at that time.