Council to lease Petershill Sports Complex to Partick Thistle Charitable Trust

Published: 14 January 2021

Glasgow City Council today (14 January) approved a 25-year lease to the Partick Thistle Charitable Trust for the Petershill Sports Complex.

The Trust will now run the facility, and take the lease of the premises on a concessionary rental basis of £750 per annum, in line with those agreed with the Rangers Charitable Foundation for the facility at Hinshelwood Drive, Ibrox.

The complex is currently leased to Glasgow Life (who will give up the leaf) and features a full-size 3G synthetic pitch with associated fencing and floodlighting, six five-a-side pitches, a 500-seat grandstand, changing rooms, dance and fitness studios, café, function suite and a two-storey office block.

Before the closure due to the pandemic, the complex was used by a range of groups, including Petershill FC, Glasgow City and Partick Thistle Charitable Trust.

The Partick Thistle Charitable Trust was established in 2011, with the aim of promoting health and well-being, football, education, active citizenship, and inclusion within communities of place and interest. As a result, the Trust has community programs such as football camps for boys and girls between 5-14; fitness and nutritional programs for adults; and football for people with disabilities.

The complex will provide a base from which the Trust can expand the various community programs that currently take place elsewhere.  The Trust will maintain access to other groups, including Petershill FC.

The two-storey office block that is occupied by officers from the council's Social Work Services will not be included in the lease to Partick Thistle Charitable Trust.

Councillor Ruari Kelly, Chair of the Contracts & Property Committee at Glasgow City Council, said: "The granting of the lease for the Petershill Sports Complex to the Partick Thistle Charitable Trust will bring great benefit to the city.  By allowing the Trust to run the complex, this will enable the expansion of their notable community programmes and serve even more groups of people in Glasgow.  We look forward to working with the Partick Thistle Charitable Trust and their partners to make the most of the services delivered at the complex."