FOLLOWING the announced closure of a popular curling rink in 2020, Braehead Curling Development Group have launched a 'steering group' to assess whether a 'Glasgow Curling Rink' would be a viable option for patrons in the future.

News of the closure of intu Braehead Curling Rink was made public in November 2019, with intu, owners of the premises, confirming that the rink will close in late March 2020.

In a statement, Centre Director for intu Braehead, Peter Beagley said: “We haven’t taken this decision lightly, however with the declining numbers of people involved in the sport, we have had to increasingly subsidise the rink over the past 20 years which is something we can’t continue to do.

“We have spoken with the clubs impacted and will now work closely with them to provide what support we can to find them a new home.

“We are now also looking at other ways in which we might use this space going forwards and hope to be able to share more information on this over the coming months."

Breahead Curling Development Group are however hopeful that West coast curlers will have a home again in the near future.

Alan Hannah, Chair of Braehead Curling Development Group, said: "First and foremost, we'll be looking at the option in that we can create a temporary facility that would mean we would be able to continue curling in September next year, when the new curling season starts.

"The second option is to look at an existing building where we could provide curling and, in the future, develop into a more permanent solution. The third option is to look at building a brand new development."

The group previously updated members, saying that a more permanent facility may take time to develop saying: "A new build may take 2-3 seasons to develop while a building which can be converted potentially reduces this timescale significantly."

The group have been working with local leisure bodies in the development of a new site, which will see around 700 curlers move from the Braehead venue.

"We'll be meeting with both Glasgow Life and Renfrewshire Leisure in January to explore their appetite for curling, or a multi-use type centre.

"Our drive at the moment is to have something that the curlers can have in September next year or as close to that as possible. If that's not possible, then we will support the club in other venues and look at a long-term solution.

The group is also working with Scottish Curling, who hope to find a venue to open Scotland's first curling museum.

Alan said: "There is a thought that if we can provide a facility somewhere, that we can almost kill two birds with one stone and provide a small museum to the history of the sport."