Lottery told: Give us £150m for 2014 Games

SCOTTISH sports chiefs and politicians are demanding the UK Government hands over an extra £150m of Lottery funding to boost the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

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UK ministers will be told the huge sum represents "fair" compensation to Scotland for the millions of pounds of Lottery cash being sucked in by the London Olympics two years earlier.

Although the Glasgow Games, which are expected to cost £300m, are already funded, organisers want the extra money to create a sporting legacy for the city and Scotland.

Nationalist and Labour politicians north of the border are working together on the campaign. A host of projects have already been identified as worthy causes for a Lottery injection, including a major boost to Glasgow's sporting facilities, and a new cycling track in Edinburgh.

And Scotland on Sunday is today launching a campaign to back the demand for extra money to improve sporting facilities throughout the country.

The Scottish Government has already claimed that £150m of Lottery funding destined for Scottish causes is being diverted to help meet the cost of the £10bn London Olympics. In total, £2.2bn of Lottery cash is being spent in London to prepare for the huge event.

UK Labour ministers deny the claim, pointing out that Scotland will benefit from the Olympics, some of which will be staged in Glasgow.

Scotland on Sunday can reveal that the SNP's demand is now also being supported by the Labour leader of Glasgow City Council, Stephen Purcell, and Labour leadership candidate Andy Kerr.

It has also emerged that the Glasgow 2014 organising committee, led by businessman Sir Robert Smith, is making behind-the-scenes efforts to secure the Lottery funding for the Glasgow Games.

Campaigners point out that the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002 received £112m in funding from the National Lottery. The money was used to spur the regeneration of east Manchester and the provision of a number of sporting facilities. However, no Lottery funding is being spent on Glasgow 2014 where the costs are being met entirely by the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council.

One Glasgow Council source said: "Bluntly, we think that Westminster should cough up."

But the bid has so far been rejected by UK sports minister Andy Burnham, who insists there is no cash available.

Whitehall points out that the funding of the Glasgow Games has been guaranteed by both the Scottish Government and the City Council, and that therefore there is no funding gap to be filled by the Lottery.

UK ministers also point out that the Commonwealth Games bid never included a bid for Lottery money in the first place. However, Glasgow chiefs and Scottish Government officials are preparing a shopping list of 'legacy' projects which they want to use the Lottery money to pay for.

Skill training for thousands of people in Glasgow, massive improvements to the city's sports facilities, and a new 'Commonwealth line' train link are among the ideas being suggested.

Meanwhile, the SNP Government is suggesting that the funds could be used across Scotland. One proposal mooted would be to use some of the funding to build a new cycling track facility in Edinburgh, as called for by Olympic gold medallist Chris Hoy. The calls for the Lottery cash were made across the political divide last night.

First Minister Alex Salmond told Scotland on Sunday: "The Scottish Government are funding 80% of the Games, and Glasgow City Council 20%, with no contribution from Westminster – so it is entirely reasonable that Lottery funding is restored

to Scotland to help boost the legacy investment."

A spokesman for Purcell added: "The funding is in place for the Games. But the legacy of the Games is more important in many ways than the Games themselves. And we need the funding in place to make sure we maximise the Games' potential."

Kerr said: "Glasgow's East End is one of the most deprived areas of the country. It not only needs this extra funding, it deserves it.

"The legacy that we are talking about for the London Olympics in 2012 is matched by the need for a legacy for Glasgow's Games in 2014. The Commonwealth Games organisers have done a lot already, but more funding is needed to mark that legacy."

Meanwhile, Sportscotland, the body which oversees sport in the country, said they too feared a drop in Lottery funding across Scotland as a result of the Olympics.

A spokeswoman said: "One of the most exciting aspects of London 2012 and Glasgow 2014 is the opportunity they present to regenerate sport across the country and deliver a sporting legacy for the future."

Sportscotland is concerned about the loss of any Lottery income and how that will impact on Scottish sport."

But a spokeswoman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which controls Lottery funding, said: "Glasgow's Candidate City File for the 2014 Games set out the various revenue streams that were expected and this did not include any funding from the Lottery."