Community sports groups fear they could be left homeless after it emerged they will have to pay a whopping 150% extra to use a new community centre.
Sports clubs who use the Menzieshill Community Centre will have to fork out the eye-watering rate when the replacement facility opens in October.
Currently it costs £13.50 to rent the hall for an hour for kids, but this will soar to £34 an hour, which amounts to an increase of 152%.
Meanwhile, for adults, the bill will go from £27.05 to £46, a 70% jump.
And groups will also no longer be able to hire the hall for half an hour blocks, meaning they will be forced to pay for the full hour even if they do not need the centre for that long.
Discovery Netball Club, which has been using the centre for almost 20 years, fears the change could threaten its future.
© Supplied
Janice Brady, a longtime member of the club, said: “We are completely self-funded so an increase like this will make things difficult for us.
“The club has been using the centre for more than 15 years and we face losing a place to train because of these changes.”
“It’s great that the community is getting a new place because the current one does have some problems.
“But it is a shame that we might not get to use it because the new prices will make it almost unaffordable”.
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The netball club is not the only sports team set to be impacted by the proposed price change.
Janice said: “There are a lot of clubs who use this centre.
“There are basketball and football clubs who will also be affected by the increase in prices.”
“I feel let down by what is happening.”
The proposed price increase has been made by Leisure and Culture Dundee (LCD), which runs sports facilities in the city, to standardise fees across its centres.
But Councillor Michael Marra, who represents the Lochee ward is calling for a solution to be found, claiming the community had not been consulted on the changes.
He said: “I have been raising the issue of the price increases for more than two years now.
“I had been assured that a community consultation had actually taken place regarding this.
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“I was shocked to learn at a meeting this week that a community consultation had in fact not taken place prior to this proposal.
“Community groups are only finding out about this a matter of weeks before the new centre is due to open.”
“I will be meeting with officers from both Leisure and Culture Dundee and the city council later this month to find a way forward.”
Meanwhile, Basketball Scotland – the sport’s national governing body – has also been drafted in to help find a way forward to ensure the groups continue to have a home.
Adam Szymoszowskyj, national development manager, said: “We aim to seek a motion to postpone the increase until a full community consultation takes place.”
“With growing obesity levels and health concerns we should be encouraging people into sport.
“It could be the case that with the price increase some sports clubs may not survive.”
An LCD spokesman said: “We have an agreed standard pricing structure across all our facilities in the city.”
