Working closely in partnership with the Caledonia Gladiators, Holmes Miller has led the delivery of a new state-of-the-art 1,600-seater temporary arena for Scotland’s only professional basketball team. Located in East Kilbride, the new facility has been designed within the existing Playsport building, which is home to several sports facilities including golf, football and swimming, and acts as the new permanent home of the club.

Basketball is a rapidly growing sport in the UK, and the Caledonia Gladiators have grand ambitions for their new home, with the opening of the temporary arena marking the first phase of a £20m project, which will culminate in the opening of a permanent ‘Centre for Scottish Basketball’ featuring a 6,000-seater arena, training stadium and academy, gym facilities and physio suites. The club has described this as ‘the largest single investment in Scottish basketball history’, with talks under way that could see the venue also used for music concerts and conferences.

This initial stage of the project has focused on the adaptive re-use of the existing facility to create a top-tier basketball offering through a new basketball arena for the club. New match day and training courts have been provided alongside grandstand seating with deck access for spectators, accessed from a new concourse in the upper warehouse that leads visitors from a large open fan zone, serviced by a variety of hospitality options and a new VIP offering.

Through Holmes Miller's extensive experience in sport and event architecture, we have developed creative solutions in re-using the spaces of the existing facility to create a venue which puts the experience of the team and the fans first. The team is especially proud of the new fan zone space that will be unique to this type and scale of venue and will offer an excellent fan experience and added value to the club.