Campaigners hoping to save Bell’s Sports Centre in Perth asked for the help of football fans ahead of St Johnstone’s game on Saturday.
Bill Powrie and David Munro, chairman of Perth and Kinross Community Sports Network (PKCSN), leafleted supporters ahead of the Aberdeen clash at McDiarmid Park.
The duo were highlighting the campaign by the network of 12 Perth and Kinross sporting groups who want Bell’s to be reopened as an indoor sports facility.
They are against plans put forward in a recent council consultation to turn the facility into an unheated events area.
PKCSN’s idea has already won the backing of nine national level sports bodies, including Scottish Athletics and Netball Scotland.
The petition to save Bell’s has been signed by nearly 2,500 people.
‘That didn’t make sense to me’
Speaking to The Courier, Bill Powrie said he wants the venue to be reopened for all indoor sports that previously used it.
The campaigner has started a Go Fund Me to pay for an architect to draw up alternative plans for the building.
Bill said: “When I heard that the council were planning to remove the skirting around the perimeter and turn Bell’s into an unheated, open-to-the-atmosphere venue, and lay down expensive astro turf – that didn’t make sense to me.”
“Surely, it would make more sense to refurbish Bells and retain it as a heated iconic venue capable of catering for multiple indoor sports?”
The campaigner claims energy bills will be a concern for Live Active Leisure and the council and wants to find a solution around that.
He said: “I know that one of the main reasons for wanting to opt for the unheated option is the cost of heating Bell’s.
“But I think that if we could obtain a comprehensive architect’s report it would be possible to reduce the utilities costs and improve the carbon footprint by installing solar panels, improved insulation and installing a new heating system.”
Say NO to Thimblerow campaign
Bell’s has been shut to the public since it was damaged by flooding in 2023.
Last year, councillors voted to include the facility in the plans for a new Perth leisure centre – a move which PKCSN opposes.
The controversial plans for a facility at Thimblerow car park have been met with widespread public backlash as they do not include a dedicated leisure pool or ice rink.
Following The Courier’s Say No to Thimblerow campaign and a petition by a former Perth Leisure Pool employee, the matter will come before councillors again in June.
The consultation results for Bell’s will also be discussed at this meeting.
Perth and Kinross Council say that responses from PKCSN and national level sports bodies will be included as part of the feedback to the consultation.
Conversation