Edinburgh sports facilities: What is re-opening and when

Sports fans rejoice. Edinburgh Leisure has begun taking steps to prepare for the re-opening of its outdoor facilities.

It comes after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gave the green light to a phased re-opening of outdoor activities during the Scottish Government’s daily news briefing on Thursday

Edinburgh Leisure says employees have been returning to work from furlough, and they have been making all the necessary changes (as per Government guidance) to ensure a safe environment for both staff and customers.

"As you can appreciate there is a lot to do and we have had to change many elements of our service," Edinburgh Leisure wrote on its website.

Outdoor tennis at the Meadows will reopen.

"Following the announcement from the First Minister, we’re delighted that we are able to start reopening some of our outdoor facilities.

"The customer experience will be different, we are all having to adapt to a new normal, and I would ask for customers support as we navigate this new normal together."

Edinburgh Leisure shared the following information on its website:

Golf

We are opening our 18-hole courses; Braids, Silverknowes, Craigentinny and Carrick Knowe on Thursday 4th June. Customers will be able to book online on our app and on our website from 9.00am Monday 1st June. More information on the adaptions and changes we’ve made for golf are in our Golf Covid Guidelines and Booking and Cancellation terms and conditions on our website.

Tennis

The First Minister's announcement also allowed us to make some changes to our tennis venues.

The courts at the Meadows will be open on Friday 29th May. These will be free and unmanned. We previously indicated that these might remain shut based on guidance we had received. This guidance has since been updated and we’re delighted that the courts at the Meadows can now open.

Our courts at Craiglockhart are not yet open. These courts are part of the operation of the leisure centre and need a high level of maintenance and we are currently working hard on how we can enable this and tackle other operational challenges.

“We will continue to follow the Scottish Government’s guidance as the country moves through the Covid-19 route map,” said Edinburgh Leisure.

“We understand that many customers want to get back to using our services as soon as possible, and we want to see our customers again.

“Please be patient, our number one priority will continue to be ensuring we can provide a safe environment for our customers and employees.”

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