There has been talk of a statue. A fitting tribute, of course, and the right and proper thing to do.
But no statue of Andy Murray at Wimbledon is going to produce the next wave of tennis professionals or allow Scots of all ages to try out the game, play it for fun, get good at it, or indeed allow them to progress and follow in the footsteps of our greatest exports in the game – Andy and Jamie Murray.
Yesterday, we revealed a much-needed £5 million backing from The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to plans from the Murray family to build a world-leading facility near Dunblane.
It has been a long time in the planning, born out of a dream from the players’ mother, Judy Murray – a former player, coach and high-profile ambassador for the sport – to create the facilities Scotland needs (and which her boys never had access) to properly build on the legacy of Andy and Jamie and invest in the next generation of players.
We Scots are, by nature it would seem, modest. We are not great at heaping praise on ourselves, nor comfortable with shouting about our successes. There is little doubt that other countries would have – well before now – built on the achievements of international players such as Andy and Jamie Murray, to inspire, motivate and produce the next generation of tennis superstars.
And yet, here in Scotland, we have not, and it is not something to be proud of.
I was pleased we were able to report on progress being made at the Murray’s Park of Keir development, a £40 million project on land between Bridge of Allan and Dunblane, that will feature 12 tennis courts, indoor and outdoor, including a multi-use sports pitch, museum, and visitor centre. The development, which has planning permission granted in principle, will also include a four-star hotel, and 19 houses.
It has had its controversies, with opposition from some locals to the use of green belt land, and up until now there has been no financial backing from the tennis authorities. Yesterday, following Andy Murray’s final Wimbledon and calls from tennis legend Billie Jean King for the completion of the Park of Keir centre, the LTA pledged £5 million towards construction. Its chief executive Scott Lloyd recognised the ‘enormous contribution’ the Murrays have made to Scottish and British tennis, and the need for a national centre of significance and community facilities.
Hats off to them and the Murrays. We should be aspiring, and working together, for the very best for Scots. This facility – and what it represents for Scotland – is long overdue.
Catherine Salmond
Editor
This newsletter will be subscriber-only from next week. All current subscribers will automatically be added to the mailing list. If you wish to continue to receive this newsletter then subscribe to The Herald for only £1 for 3 months.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel