Oriam

Last updated

Oriam is Scotland's national performance centre for sport, based at Heriot-Watt University's Riccarton campus in Edinburgh. The Scottish Rugby Union and the Scottish Football Association use it as a training facility, Heart of Midlothian F.C. rent the centre for first-team training and to run their academy. It is also used by other sports teams, students and members of the public.

Contents

History

A review of Scottish football, led by former First Minister of Scotland Henry McLeish, picked up on the lack of facilities in Scotland in the first report published in April 2010. [1] In February 2012, Sport Minister Shona Robison announced that £25 million from the Scottish Government's Young Scots Fund would be put towards a new multi-sports centre which would include a national football academy. [2] Universities, colleges and local authorities were invited to bid. [3] By August 2013 there were three finalists. [4] In September 2013, it was announced that the design by Reiach & Hall was chosen. [5] [6] The remaining £9 million towards the cost of building came from Sportscotland, Heriot-Watt University and the City of Edinburgh Council. [7]

Construction work began in March 2015. [8] The £33 million facility opened in August 2016. The indoor football pitch is covered by a curved steel frame with a PVC roof, [9] the shape of which has been likened to the trajectory of "the goal which defied physics" which was scored by Brazilian football player Roberto Carlos against France in 1997. [10] [11] [12] The building won the Future Building section at the 2016 Scottish Design Awards. [13] [14]

Sports

The Scottish Rugby Union and the Scottish Football Association have both made long-term commitments to using Oriam ahead of international fixtures. [15] Heart of Midlothian F.C. use the facility to run their academy and for first-team training. [16] The Scottish Handball Association, basketballscotland and Scottish Netball also use the facility. [17] Furthermore, it is used by the recently formed professional women's team in basketball and handball, both launched in summer 2016. [18] Unlike some elite performance facilities, Oriam will be available to other sports teams, students and members of the public. [19] [20] For the 2016–17 season, Hibernian F.C. will play their under-20 fixtures at Oriam. [15]

Facilities

The centre has a FIFA-accredited indoor synthetic 3G pitch which is the largest of its type in Europe. [11] [21] [22] [23] [24] Its dimensions of 116 yards by 76 yards are the same size as those of Hampden Park's pitch. [12] [15] [25] [26] At the midpoint of this playing space, the roof is 28m high and there is a 15m playing height at the sides. [15] The space accommodates a viewing area that can seat 500 people. [15] There is also a synthetic pitch outdoors. There are natural surfaces outside too- five grass football pitches and two grass rugby pitches. [12]

Indoors there is a 12-court sports hall, eight squash courts and a four-court sports hall. [27] Other facilities available on the high-performance side of the centre include a HydroWorx 3500i Series hydrotherapy pool with an integrated treadmill, a rehabilitation area and gym area for strength and conditioning. [25]

A 160-bed hotel is to be located on the site, to open in 2017. [12] [19]

See also

Other indoor football facilities in Scotland:

55°54′36″N3°18′56″W / 55.9101°N 3.3156°W / 55.9101; -3.3156

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heriot-Watt University</span> University in Edinburgh, Scotland

Heriot-Watt University is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by royal charter in 1966. It is the eighth-oldest higher education institution in the United Kingdom. The name Heriot-Watt was taken from Scottish inventor James Watt and Scottish philanthropist and goldsmith George Heriot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parkhead</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Parkhead is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necropolis cemetery was laid out in the area in 1847 beside the Gallowgate.

Sportscotland, formerly the Scottish Sports Council, is the national agency for sport in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falkirk Stadium</span> Football stadium in Falkirk, Scotland

The Falkirk Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Falkirk, central Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Championship club Falkirk and Lowland Football League club East Stirlingshire since 2018. The stadium has a capacity of 7,937 and currently consists of three fully completed stands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newarthill</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Newarthill is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, situated roughly three miles north-east of the town of Motherwell. It has a population of around 6,200. Most local amenities are shared with the adjacent villages of Carfin, Holytown and New Stevenston which have a combined population of around 20,000 across the four localities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meadowbank Stadium</span> Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland

Meadowbank Stadium is a multi-purpose sports facility located in the Meadowbank area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Built on the site of the earlier New Meadowbank and Old Meadowbank sports venues, it was originally built to host the 1970 Commonwealth Games. It also hosted the Games in 1986, becoming the first venue to host the Games twice. It is the current home of Scottish League Two side Edinburgh City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riccarton, Edinburgh</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Riccarton is an area in Edinburgh's Green Belt, in Scotland. It is mainly undeveloped, with much farmland and few houses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in Scotland</span>

Sport plays a central role in Scottish culture. The temperate, oceanic climate has played a key part in the evolution of sport in Scotland, with all-weather sports like association football and golf dominating the national sporting consciousness. However, many other sports are played in the country, with popularity varying between sports and between regions.

National Sports Training Centre Inverclyde is a sports training facility in Largs, North Ayrshire. It is the UK's first inclusive residential sports facility and caters for both elite athletes and the local community in a range of sports and activities. The facility is known in association football for being an education centre for managers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lennoxtown training centre</span>

Lennoxtown Training Centre is Celtic F.C.'s training centre, located at Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire in Scotland. The complex houses the club's training and educational facilities.

Aberdeen University Sports Union (AUSU) is the sports union at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is a constituent part of Aberdeen University Students' Association. It is not responsible for facilities and rents time for its clubs from Aberdeen Sports Village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goodwin Sports Centre</span> Sporting facility and gym in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England

Goodwin Sports Centre is a sporting facility and gym in the Crookesmoor area of the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its facilities include a multi-use games area, gym, sports hall and several synthetic pitches. It is owned by the University of Sheffield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edinburgh International Climbing Arena</span> Sports venue in City of Edinburgh

Edinburgh International Climbing Arena is an adventure sports facility located in Ratho, near Edinburgh, Scotland. Built in a disused quarry, it is one of the largest indoor climbing walls in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart Regan</span>

Stewart Regan is an English sports administrator who is the former CEO of Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the Scottish Football Association. He was also Director of the English Football League Championship, a position he took up following 17 years in the brewing industry with both John Smith's Brewery and Bass Brewery. Regan was Strategic Planning Director for Bass and part of the senior team involved in the sale of the company's brewing arm to the American brewer, Coors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility</span> Public leisure centre

The Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility is a public leisure centre that is located in the Ravenscraig area of Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland.

The Scottish Rugby Academy, for sponsorship reasons the Fosroc Scottish Rugby Academy, is a national academy structure designed to give Scotland's young rugby stars a pathway into the professional game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Inch, Edinburgh</span> District of Edinburgh

The Inch is a district of Edinburgh, Scotland, located to the south of Inch Park in the south of the city. It is located 2 miles (3 km) south south-east of central Edinburgh. It incorporates the Inch housing development, Inch Park and the category A listed Inch House, a former country house now used as a community centre. The associated Inch Doocot or dovecot, also a category A listed building, is situated close by, west of Gilmerton Road.

Toryglen Regional Football Centre is a facility for football in the Toryglen area of Glasgow, Scotland. The complex was completed in 2009 and is situated close to the national stadium, Hampden Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hibernian F.C. Reserves and Academy</span> Scottish reserve football teams

In addition to their first team competing in the Scottish Premiership, Hibernian F.C. also maintain further teams for younger age groups playing in competitions such as the Scottish Challenge Cup and the Scottish Youth Cup within the club's academy.

Sheila Margaret Begbie is a Scottish former footballer and sports administrator who was Director of Domestic Rugby at the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) until 2021. She played as a central defender for Edinburgh Dynamos and the Scotland women's national team, making 25 international appearances after debuting for Scotland aged 15. She later entered football administration, spending sixteen years as head of Girls' and Women's Football at the Scottish Football Association (SFA) before switching to rugby union with the SRU in 2014.

References

  1. ↑ "Major report demands changes to Scottish football". BBC News. 23 April 2010.
  2. ↑ "Sport Minister Shona Robison announces plans for £25m national sports centre". Daily Record . 21 February 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "Scottish national performance centre for sport to cost £25m". BBC Sport. 21 December 2012.
  4. ↑ Waite, Richard (9 August 2013). "Revealed: finalists vying for Scottish national sport centre" . Architects' Journal . Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Ward, Paul (13 September 2013). "Edinburgh wins £30m National Sports Centre". The Herald. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  6. ↑ Donati, Marino (12 September 2013). "Edinburgh wins £30m Scottish national sport centre" . Architects' Journal. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "Scotland's £33m world-class sporting centre opens". The Scotsman. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  8. ↑ "Tennis courts bulldozed for national sports centre". Edinburgh Evening News . 23 March 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "CMS helps deliver Edinburgh's world-class sports performance centre". www.scottishconstructionnow.com. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  10. ↑ "Edinburgh to host Scotland's elite performance sport centre". BBC Sport . 12 September 2013.
  11. 1 2 Davidson, Gina (17 February 2016). "Roberto Carlos' physics-defying goal inspires Oriam stadium". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Donnelly, Brian (3 September 2016). "Edinburgh hub for Champions League clubs by 2017". The Herald. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "Pop-up gallery, riverfront college and modern languages classrooms lead SDA winners". www.urbanrealm.com. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  14. ↑ "Scottish Design Awards 2016: Future building: Oriam". www.scottishdesignawards.com. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Macpherson, Graeme (21 August 2016). "Inside Oriam: The new centre for sporting excellence that removes excuses from the Scotland equation". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  16. ↑ "Oriam - The jewel in the crown of Scottish sport". Scottish FA. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  17. ↑ Maclean, Ian (8 April 2016). "Lynne hopes new Oriam centre will hand sport a massive boost". Cumbernauld News. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  18. ↑ "Maureeen McGonigle: Superb new Oriam facility will boost netball and basketball hopes". The National. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  19. 1 2 Dorsey, Kirsty (18 January 2016). "Interview: Catriona McAllister, chief executive of Oriam". The Scotsman. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  20. ↑ McCall, Chris (31 March 2016). "Oriam research will benefit Scots athletes and public alike". The Scotsman . Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  21. ↑ "Heriot Watt University, ORIAM – Pitch 10 indoor". FIFA. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  22. ↑ Smith, Andrew (21 August 2016). "Oriam: Sports performance centre to help Scots best – and the rest". The Scotsman. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  23. ↑ "Biggest Indoor Pitch in Europe at Oriam, Scotland". www.greenfieldsturf.co.uk (Press release). 23 September 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  24. ↑ "Oriam takes shape: A virtual guided tour". www.sportscotland.org.uk (Press release). Sportscotland. 4 May 2016. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  25. 1 2 Reid, Anna (16 December 2015). "Scotland's new £33m centre of sporting excellence". The National . Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  26. ↑ McCall, Chris (31 March 2016). "Oriam research will benefit Scots athletes and public alike". The Scotsman. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  27. ↑ Nicolson, Kaye (29 August 2016). "National sports performance centre officially opens". STV News . Retrieved 16 October 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.