Caledonia Gladiators ambitious venue plans



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Scotland Caledonia Gladiators new arena Image: Big Partnership

Plans have been unveiled for a new £20m basketball arena in Scotland (UK).

‘sky news’ stated that the British Basketball League team Caledonia Gladiators’ state-of-the-art 6,000-seater stadium and five-court complex will also feature a training academy, a dedicated accommodation area, gym facilities, and physio suites.

The Caledonia Gladiators are a professional basketball club in Glasgow, Scotland. The Gladiators compete in the British Basketball League, the top tier of British basketball. Since 2012, the team have played their home games at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.

The 6,500-capacity Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, known for sponsorship reasons as the Emirates Arena, is an indoor arena and velodrome in Dalmarnock, Glasgow, Scotland. Built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, these venues hosted the badminton and track cycling events.

‘sky news’ further stated that talks are also under way that could see the venue used for music concerts and conferences.

Work is expected to begin at the Playsport Scotland leisure complex in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, next year and is due to be complete by 2026.

Playsport is a purpose-built 90-acre park in East Kilbride, Scotland (UK) offering a vast array of indoor and outdoor sport, entertainment and leisure pursuits.

Steve Timoney, founder of stock market listed group Smart Metering Systems, is behind what has been called the largest single investment in Scottish basketball history.

Timoney, who owns the British Basketball League (BBL) and Women’s BBL club along with his wife Alison, said, “This is a hugely exciting moment for the future of the Caledonia Gladiators. Our new base at Playsport will go on to become one of the finest basketball facilities in Europe once it is completed in 2026. It includes plans for a class-leading academy, which will train youngsters from Scotland and across the world with the aim of developing them into elite players.”

The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men’s professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs however from Wales or Northern Ireland.

The Caledonia Gladiators are the only team in the top tier of British basketball currently based in Scotland, and it is expected the arena will host other teams in the league, which currently includes sides from London, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield, among other Cities.

Later this Summer, the Gladiators will move into a 1,800-seater temporary stadium at the East Kilbride site ahead of the completion of the new venue.

It is hoped that the new arena will ultimately become the home of Team GB.

Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association for their British Olympic team. The brand was developed after the nation’s poor performance in the 1996 Summer Olympics, and is now a trademark of the British Olympic Association.

Added Timoney, “We believe our new facility has the potential to help Caledonia Gladiators become one of the most successful men and women’s teams (Caledonia Gladiators [women]) in the BBL and Women’s British Basketball League (WBBL), with ambitions to play at the top level in Europe. It’s a great time for the club, with our BBL Trophy final match round the corner, and we’re all hugely looking forward to that match.”

The Women’s British Basketball League is the top-level women’s basketball league in Great Britain, founded on June 5th, 2014 as the women’s counterpart to the British Basketball League. The league’s headquarters are in Leicester alongside the offices of the men’s BBL.

The Caledonia Gladiators (women) are a professional women’s basketball team based in East Kilbride, Scotland. Formerly known as Caledonia Pride, they are the first and currently only women’s professional basketball team in Scotland competing in the Women’s British Basketball League (WBBL). The Lagoon Leisure Centre in Paisley, Scotland, serves as their home ground.

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