Organiser says pool championship could have raised a pot of gold

The organiser of a major sporting event planned for Perth says he has been left “angry and disillusioned” by the level of council support offered.

Ross McInnes of the Scottish Pool Association claims that staging the Nations Cup in Perth in October 2015 could have generated £500,000 for the local economy.

The council had agreed to back the event to the tune of £20,000 which would have covered the costs of hiring the Bell’s Sports Centre, but Mr McInnes hoped they would have offered another £10,000.

A council spokesman said: “Perth and Kinross Council has proposed in principle funding support of £20,000 towards the staging of the event, an increase from the £10,000 the council granted towards the costs of hosting the 2014 World Championships, which represents a substantial increase.

“Unfortunately, the council has to make difficult decisions as to the extent to which it can assist individual events to ensure that the limited resources available are used to support a broad programme of events across the whole year.”