It is good to be able to have this short debate to mark the spectacular success of the Ryder cup, which was summed up in yesterday’s Scotsman:
“It provided drama aplenty over three days, during which there was not a squeak of complaint from any of the 24 players. In terms of spectator viewing, it was quite possibly one of the best we have seen, not just for an event that had 45,000 spectators attending each day but for any tournament ever staged in this country.”
On Sunday evening, Sky Sports broadcaster Butch Harman commented:
“This is by far the best organised Ryder Cup ever. It has been phenomenal.”
It was also a success because of the stunning victory of the European team, led by captain Paul McGinley, which means that Europe holds the title for the third time in a row.
The television audience across the world was more than 500 million people, and for the 250,000 fans who came from 96 different countries to watch the best players from Europe and the USA it was an amazing experience. Many of them enjoyed events such as the fantastic gala concert that was held last Wednesday at the SSE Hydro. The Falkirk kelpies and Edinburgh’s air traffic control tower were also lit up in gold in celebration of Scotland’s hosting of the Ryder cup. What a week of weather, too, with the sun rising at Gleneagles for the opening tee-off to welcome the fans in the packed grandstands.
Importantly, the Ryder cup was a success because of the legacy benefits, which we will debate in a moment, as well as the huge amount of work that was undertaken by the many partners that are listed in the motion. I pay particular tribute to VisitScotland and its events directorate, EventScotland, for the work that they have done.
The Ryder cup will provide great economic benefits to Scotland, both locally and nationally. We are already seeing examples of that impact. One golf club in Angus reported an estimated income of £15,000 a day during the Ryder cup, and a golf club in Ayrshire saw its visitor numbers shoot up by 74 per cent compared with the same period last year. In addition, several airlines, including US Airways and United Airlines, reported increases in demand for international seats, while KLM and Icelandair added extra capacity on flights throughout September in response to strong demand from the North American market. With the tournament beamed to a global television audience in excess of 500 million each day of the competition, the Ryder cup truly has set Scotland as the perfect stage for major events.
To ensure that we capture those benefits fully, a full independent evaluation is under way. The evaluation will be far reaching and, among other things, will capture the impacts in terms of increased employment in Perth and Kinross and the rest of Scotland; the value of supplier contracts won by Scottish businesses involved with the event; increased tourism, including increased visitor numbers, duration of stay and occupancy levels and the additional revenue generated in relation to travel and transport; and golf and the positive impact that the event has had on visitors playing Scotland’s fabulous golf courses. A report will be published in the spring of next year, and I will update colleagues in the chamber at that time.
It has been a long time since the Ryder cup was awarded to Scotland 13 years ago, and the legacy benefits have been part of the planning from the outset.
Scotland is not only the home of golf, but the future of golf, and this Government is committed to increasing golf participation and membership levels through our successful clubgolf programme.
To underline that commitment, the First Minister announced last week additional funding of up to £1 million over four years to help introduce yet more youngsters and families to the game. The clubgolf programme has encouraged more than 350,000 youngsters to pick up a club, and the new funding will not only build on that success, but look to expand the appeal to families. Through the new get into golf initiative, as part of clubgolf parents are being encouraged to participate with their children and play the game as a family.
The junior Ryder cup, which also took place last week in Blairgowrie, was the perfect illustration of clubgolf at its best. With 3,200 schoolchildren taking part in clubgolf activity and about 6,000 spectators over the course of the tournament, the profile of junior golf is stronger than it has ever been.
Another area that we have invested in from the beginning as part of our Ryder cup bid commitments is the development of domestic golf tournaments, with more than £10 million spent to date. That investment supports golf tourism—a key tourism market for Scotland—as well as providing a boost for businesses not just in Perthshire, but throughout Scotland.
We also helped deliver the best ever connected Ryder cup through investing in telecoms. This was the first ever Ryder cup where people were allowed to take mobile phones on the course, where we facilitated 4G connectivity. As well as the connectivity on the course, we also invested in enhancing the spectator experience, from wi-fi hotspots at park-and-ride sites to wi-fi en-route.
With any major event, transport planning is always a particular challenge. The Ryder cup was no different, with spectators travelling to Gleneagles from across the country. During the event the park-and-ride system and ScotRail together ensured that spectators arrived safely and on time. About 30,000 people directly experienced the upgraded Gleneagles railway station. I thank those who worked tirelessly to keep Perthshire and the rest of Scotland on the move.
The scale and size of the Ryder cup dictated that it had to be a non-car event. Officials at Transport Scotland worked with Ryder Cup Europe and key partners, including Perth and Kinross Council and Police Scotland, to develop a robust transport plan. The plan was designed to maximise the use of the available road and public transport networks and to minimise the negative impact of the event on local communities, businesses and the wider travelling public.
The plan also sought to deliver transport legacy benefits from the 2014 Ryder cup. As I mentioned, Gleneagles station has undergone significant refurbishment, providing a lasting legacy for Auchterarder and the wider Strathearn area. Works included structural refurbishment and wi-fi installation. In addition, Network Rail, through the access for all fund, installed two new lifts, providing step-free access to both platforms.
ScotRail also fitted wi-fi equipment on to the class 170 and class 158 rolling stock that served Gleneagles last week. That will provide a legacy for routes across Scotland.
Finally, the new link road connects the station safely to the nearby A9 and an expanded car park.
However, the event was not only about the teams and the fans. Indeed, it would not have been possible without the hardworking and dedicated 7,000 staff and 1,800 volunteers, and I pay particular tribute to them. As part of the wider volunteering programme, we supported 50 young people to volunteer through the Scotland’s best programme, increasing their skills and experience as well as helping them gain a Scottish credit and qualifications framework level 4 employability qualification to increase their employment prospects. The young people whom I met from the Scotland’s best programme certainly got a lot out of their experience.
In the coming weeks and months, we will be able to report on further outcomes and legacy benefits from the Ryder cup, not least when the economic benefits study reports next spring.
I look forward to hearing members’ views. It is without doubt that the Ryder cup has put the icing on the cake on what has been a fantastic summer of sport. We should not underestimate Scotland’s reach on the world stage, first through the Commonwealth games, politically through the referendum and, finally, through the Ryder cup. Scotland is better known to millions of people throughout the world, which can only be good for our country, our economy and our tourism industry. I hope that members across the whole chamber will welcome that.
It is with great pleasure that I move,
That the Parliament congratulates the European team on retaining the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles; commends both the European and US teams for providing a world-class tournament watched by sell-out audiences and showcasing Scotland to a global television audience in excess of half a billion each day of the competition; congratulates Ryder Cup Europe, EventScotland, Police Scotland, Transport Scotland, Perth and Kinross Council, Gleneagles Hotel, Scottish Government agencies and all the partner organisations for the excellent partnership working that went into delivering the event; supports the Scottish Government and all partners in taking advantage of the substantial business and inward investment opportunities presented by hosting both the Ryder Cup and Junior Ryder Cup, as well as building on Scotland’s reputation as the home of golf and a perfect stage for holding world-class events, developing the range of sporting tournaments that it hosts; welcomes work to continue to promote and deliver a lasting legacy for the game through the successful ClubGolf initiative, which, with additional support of up to £1 million from the Scottish Government, will now develop a programme to encourage families to play golf, and leave lasting benefits to the transport infrastructure for local communities around Gleneagles, and agrees that the Scottish Government should continue to drive forward the benefits from hosting the Ryder Cup to build on these foundations, leaving a lasting legacy for Scotland from this remarkable sporting spectacle.