Dundee-based Labour MSP Jenny Marra has backed the city council’s bid for Scotland’s National Performance Centre for Sport to be based at Camperdown Country Park.
In 2011, Ms Marra started a campaign for the centre to be brought to Dundee.
She enlisted the support of Dundee-born Scottish international Charlie Adam for her effort.
She welcomed the backing of Dundee United’s ArabTrust on Friday and said: “The campaign to bring this facility to our city has gone from strength-to-strength and I’m delighted that the ArabTrust is supporting our campaign.
“Dundee deserves better sporting facilities and the people of our city want this academy. We need to be bold and ambitious and I’m calling on city council to make the best possible case for Dundee when submitting their bid.”
ArabTrust associate director Colin Stewart said: “On behalf of the ArabTrust, I am delighted to support the campaign to bring the national football academy and performance centre to Dundee.
“There is a strong case for locating the centre in Dundee, given we are the only major city in Scotland without a Uefa-standard indoor pitch.
“If we are serious about looking at the football stars of the future then we need an academy for the whole of Scotland and the most sensible location would be Dundee.”
Dundee City Council’s policy and resources committee will be asked on Monday to approve plans to turn the South-East corner of Camperdown Park into the site for the prestigious centre if Dundee’s bid is successful.
A first-stage bid for the centre has to be submitted by February 15.
It would come after months of preparation by the council and its partners Dundee and Abertay universities, Dundee College, Dundee United FC, Dundee FC, NHS Tayside and Leisure and Culture Dundee.
Outdoors, there would be a floodlit third-generation synthetic grass training pitch for football and other sports; a full-size grass pitch for football; a floodlit grass match pitch for football; two grass training pitches; two 60x40m grass goalkeeper training areas, and an expansion area suitable for two extra pitches.
Indoors, there would be a full-size third-generation synthetic grass pitch for football and other sports with seating for 1,000 people; a sports hall big enough for nine badminton courts and seating for 500 people; tennis courts; a fitness suite; a health and wellbeing facility; changing accommodation, office and meeting room accommodation for Scottish governing bodies, and a three-star, 90-bedroom hotel.
SNP group leader Ken Guild said: “The idea to use a part of Camperdown Park satisfies a number of specified key bid criteria that are being asked for and I am determined that we make Dundee’s case the best it can be.
“It would be a tremendous boost for the city to bring the National Performance Centre for Sport here and it would be something else to put Dundee on the map.”
Councillor Richard McCready said: “People right across Dundee have been supporting Jenny Marra’s campaign to bring the National Performance Centre to Dundee. We need to make a really strong bid for this investment in the city. Having these football training facilities would also strengthen the case for Scotland to play international matches in Dundee.
“It is good to see the strong partnership involved in trying to bring this investment to the city I hope that the Scottish Government will recognise this and invest in our great city.”
aargo@thecourier.co.uk