An ambitious and wide-ranging redevelopment of sports facilities at St Andrews University is under starter’s orders and could attract some of the best student athletes.
The university’s planning and resources committee has approved an initial investment of more than £300,000 to produce detailed designs for a scheme that may see up to £14 million spent.
The detailed designs will include a new eight-court sports hall/arena, a larger and better equipped fitness suite, a new four-court indoor tennis centre, larger performance conditioning suite, increased changing provision and a full refurbishment of the St Leonard’s Road Sports Centre and its reception areas.
The scheme which would offer state-of-the-art sports and training facilities to St Andrews students and staff as well as community users is subject to final approval by the university court.
The university will attempt to raise £3 million from donors and alumni in addition to the investment of core funds. If approved by court, the scheme will be addressed in three phases and is expected to take two and half years to complete.
More than half of the 7,700 student population of St Andrews are members of one or more sports club, with more than 4,000 students regularly engaging in physical activity.
In addition to its 56 sports clubs, the university runs what is regarded as the most extensive student sport volunteer programme in Scotland, with involvement in a number of outreach initiatives for local children, national opportunities and an increasing international presence.
Although the university’s current facilities are dated and frequently overcrowded, student sports teams at St Andrews have performed with increasing distinction in recent years.
Sports club success includes notable performances from the men’s rugby team, who beat Edinburgh in the annual varsity game and won the national Scottish Student Sport league, while the fencing club continues to perform well in the Premier league. Other top performers with national trophies in their sights include the lacrosse, basketball and volleyball teams.
The St Andrews facilities have also proved popular with professional athletes. Dundee United have a permanent training base at St Leonard’s Road and the complex has hosted Barcelona, Manchester United, Everton and the Scotland football squads for short training camps and pre-season work.
Many top-class rugby squads have also based themselves at University Park for intensive training sessions and these have included the Scotland team, Gloucester Rugby and the Wigan Warriors rugby league side. It is understood talks with a number of well-known professional clubs are ongoing regarding camps this summer.
Higher quality and additional sports facilities would also benefit members of the public and community clubs. There would be greater opportunity for schools primary, secondary and independent to use facilities during the school day and higher-quality fitness training facilities could benefit all local athletes.
Despite the success of St Andrews student sports teams and the high profile the sports centre enjoys in professional sports circles, research has suggested the university may have been losing out on recruiting the best student athletes because its present facilities do not yet match those on offer from competitors.
The university’s director of sport and exercise, Stephen Stewart, and president of the athletic union, Jessica Walker, have worked together to develop a vision for sport in St Andrews in which the facilities match the interest and expectations of students and the local community.