Thistle hope to net community pitches
PA R T I C K T h i s t l e Charitable Trust could take over the running of the Petershill Spor ts Complex from Glasgow Life. Negotiations between the city council and the trust will start if councillors give their support next week.
The charity would lease the complex from the council and allow other groups to continue accessing the pitches, including Petershill FC.
The venue is mostly owned by the council and leased to Glasgow Life, with the current contract set to expire in March 2032. Part of the site is owned by Petershill FC and ran by the council on a 99- year ground lease.
Pitches are currently closed due to the Covid- 19 pandemic, with “no immediate” plans to reopen.
The proposal will go before the council’s contracts and property committee on Thursday.
Councillor Ruairi Kelly, who chairs that committee, said: “The trust has a long history of working with communities in this part of Glasgow and in partnership with Glasgow City Council.
“The most important thing is ensuring that these facilities are open for residents of the city to use and enjoy and this has been the main focus of colleagues in bringing this paper forward.
“With a base like this in the community, I’m sure the trust will continue to expand on the great work they are doing and it will be of real benefit to the local community.”
Discussions have taken place between Glasgow Life and the trust over the future of the facility. If the new lease goes ahead, Glasgow Life would renounce its current lease.
The 11- acre site includes a 3G pitch, a 500- seat grandstand, changing rooms, dance and fitness studios, a café and a function suite.
A two- storey office building, occupied by council social work staff, is unlikely to be included in a lease to the trust.
Partick Thistle Charitable Trust, set up in 2011, promotes health and wellbeing, football, education and inclusion within communities.