Construction of a centre of sporting excellence will begin in Perth later this summer.
The multi-million-pound project on land at Perth College’s Crieff Road campus has been approved by council officials less than three months after the proposals were first revealed.
The £6.5 million Academy of Sport and Wellbeing will offer a wide range of facilities including basketball and badminton courts and a hockey pitch to help students train to a national level.
It is hoped the new centre, which is due to open later next year, will become a launchpad for a new generation of professional athletes.
Principal Margaret Munckton said: “This is tremendous news for Perth College, our students and the city of Perth.
“As a college and university, it is essential that we have the best possible facilities for our students in order to provide them with a first-class education.”
Perth and Kinross Council said the project had attracted no objections, so there was no need to bring it before a committee of councillors for approval.
A planning department spokesman said: “The proposed development will have a significant positive social/leisure, educational and environmental impact for Perth College and a minimal adverse impact on the amenity of non-campus properties near the application site.”
The building will include a multi- purpose sports hall with bleacher seating for about 430 people. It will have six badminton courts, with markings for hockey, netball and basketball games.
The academy, which will also have facilities for indoor cricket, could even boast an electronic scoring system and climbing chamber with structures for all ages and abilities.
A fitness wing and modern hair and beauty therapy suite is also planned.
The college, which has 8,000 students, has been working on the project with Live Active Leisure, the council and several national bodies.
The centre will allow college staff to work alongside national sporting groups such as Badmington Scotland, Cricket Scotland and the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, to support development at grassroots.
The project will be mostly paid for by the college, but funding is expected to come from other partners and a fundraising campaign is being coordinated by the institution’s development trust.
Welcoming the the new centre, MSP Murdo Fraser said: “The Commonwealth Games has been a huge success and we must ensure that we capitalise on its legacy and I am very excited by Perth College’s vision.”
A site next to the current student union will be cleared to make way for the new development. College bosses said it was important to place the expansion “at the heart of campus life”.