Bell's Sports Centre
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Bell's Sports Centre, formerly known as the Gannochy Trust Sports Complex,
– ''Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland'',
Francis Hindes Groome Francis Hindes Groome (30 August 1851 – 24 January 1902) was a writer and foremost commentator of his time on the Romani people, their language, life, history, customs, beliefs, and lore. He was the son of Robert Hindes Groome, Archdeacon of ...
(1901)
is located in
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Scotland. Built in 1968, it stands at the western edge of the city's
North Inch North Inch is a large public park in Perth, Scotland, Perth, Scotland. About in size, it is one of two "Inches" in Perth, the other being the smaller, 31-hectare South Inch, located half a mile across the city. The inches were granted to the ci ...
park, adjacent to Balhousie Castle. At the time of its opening, its domed roof, over in diameter, was the largest laminated timber dome in the United Kingdom. It was surpassed by London's
Millennium Dome The Millennium Dome was the original name of the large dome-shaped building on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East (London sub region), South East London, England, which housed a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millen ...
in 1999. Owned by
Perth and Kinross Council Perth and Kinross Council () is the local authority for Perth and Kinross, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council has been under no overall control since 1999. It is based in Perth. History A district called Perth and Kinross was ...
, it is operated by Live Active Leisure on behalf of
Perth and Kinross Council Perth and Kinross Council () is the local authority for Perth and Kinross, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council has been under no overall control since 1999. It is based in Perth. History A district called Perth and Kinross was ...
.


History

In the early 1960s, Perth's then-
lord provost A lord provost () is the convenor of the local authority, the civic head and the lord-lieutenant of one of the principal cities of Scotland. The office is similar to that of a lord mayor. Only the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Stirlin ...
Dr Robert Ritchie discussed plans for a sports facility in the city. In 1964, it was announced that the Gannochy Trust, founded in 1937 by Arthur Kinmond Bell and of which W. G. Farquharson, the trust's chairman, funded the estimated £150,000 cost of the building's construction. The venue was to be named after Bell, due to his love of sport and of his concern for the health of Perth's citizens."The History of Bells Sports Centre"
– Small City, Big Personality
Construction of the facility began on 16 September 1966, and its
foundation stone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...
was laid by Farquharson on 20 March 1967. David K. Thomson, who had succeeded Dr Robert Ritchie as lord provost, presided over the ceremony. The planned opening was originally in March 1968, but a fire broke out in the building, severely damaging the dome. Most of the 36 arches had to be replaced. After the extensive repairs, Bell's Sports Centre opened on 15 October 1968, six months behind schedule. The Gannochy Sports Pavilion was built on the dome's southeastern side between 1975 and 1979, designed by
Esmé Gordon Alexander Esmé Gordon (12 September 1910 – 31 May 1993) was a Scottish Modernist architect, writer, and painter who served as Secretary of the Royal Scottish Academy between 1973 and 1978. Born in Edinburgh and educated at Edinburgh Academy a ...
. The two buildings were linked and modernised between 1989 and 1991, with squash courts added. Bell's Sports Centre was one of the venues used during the
2011–12 UEFA Futsal Cup The 2011–12 UEFA Futsal Cup was the 26th edition of Europe's premier club futsal tournament and the 11th edition under the current UEFA Futsal Cup format. Teams th Title Holder Preliminary round The draw for the preliminary round and the main ...
. In October 2023, the building was flooded after Perth and Kinross Council failed to close the
River Tay The River Tay (, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing' David Ross, ''Scottish Place-names'', p. 209. Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, 2001.) is the longest river in Sc ...
floodgates in time after heavy rainfall. The gym was moved to the Dewar's Centre on Glover Road, while the sports centre is likely to be closed permanently after it was estimated that repairs to the building were likely to cost around £2 million. The future of Perth Leisure Pool and the Dewar's Centre are also in doubt, due to their losing money annually. Plans for a new sports centre, initially discussed a decade earlier, were started again in 2024.


Design

36 arches, each long,''The Municipal and Public Services Journal'', Volume 77 (1969) support the domed roof, which is tall. The facility has of floor space.


Facilities

Up until 2023, its floor space accommodated courts for tennis, badminton, volleyball, netball and basketball. It also had a
running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...
that equated to one mile per eleven laps, a 60-metre sprint track, long-, high- and triple-jumps, pole vault, hammer, discus and javelin. It also had facilities for indoor football, hockey, practice cricket wickets and golf. Former British number-one tennis player
Elena Baltacha Elena Sergeevna Baltacha (; 14 August 1983 – 4 May 2014) was a Ukrainian-born British professional tennis player. Being a four-time winner of the AEGON Awards, she was also a long-term British No. 1, a position she held intermittently ...
formerly practiced at Bell's Sports Centre with her father Sergei Baltacha in the early 1990s, when her father played for St Johnstone, the city's professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club. In 2021, Live Active Leisure announced plans to invest £750,000 to build a new fitness gym and exercise studio at the centre. The plans were of concern to the city's various sport clubs who would be losing the use of the centre's coaching hall."Fears Bell's Sports Centre £750,000 refurbishment will be 'extremely detrimental' to Perth clubs"
– '' The Courier'', 23 December 2021
Swimming was not available at the centre; there is instead Perth Leisure Pool, located around to the southeast. Adjacent to the pool is the Dewar's Centre, which offers ice skating and curling. Perthshire RFC used the pavilion's changing rooms, although their home field is officially the North Inch. There was also a restaurant on site.


References


Works cited

*Duncan 2012


External links

* {{official, https://www.liveactive.co.uk/Venues/bells-sports-centre Sports venues in Perth, Scotland Sport in Scotland 1968 establishments in Scotland