City Park Stirling set to become Scotland’s leading sustainable outdoor venue

More than £750,000 is being invested to transform City Park Stirling into Scotland’s leading sustainable outdoor events space with a 30,000 capacity.

The funding will be provided by the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal to make the site suitable for large-scale music events, concerts and festivals. The City Region Deal is a partnership between both Stirling and Clackmannanshire Councils, the University of Stirling and the UK and Scottish Governments.

The enhancements are based on feedback from industry experts and include new access points, water and electricity supply points, improved drainage, broadband infrastructure and new internal vehicle access routes.

The project, which is part of the City Region Deal’s Culture and Heritage programme, aims to generate at least an additional 500,000 visitors by attracting large-scale concerts, festivals or events over the next 15 years. It is expected the works will be completed by 31 March 2026 (subject to planning permission and other relevant statutory consents).

Significant and wide-ranging economic and social benefits

Stirling Council Leader, Cllr Gerry McGarvey said: “We know from speaking to organisers that the lack of in-built infrastructure at City Park Stirling has reduced the opportunities for more large-scale events at the site such as the successful Stirling Summer Sessions.

“This exciting project will transform City Park Stirling into a high-quality, sustainable outdoor venue that can compete with anywhere in Scotland for major music, cultural and civic events.

“It will generate significant and wide-ranging economic and social benefits for both the city and the wider region through increased tourism, investment and job creation, as well as delivering important environmental improvements at the site.

“The investment reaffirms Stirling and Scotland’s reputation as a world-class events destination and we look forward to engaging with the events industry on future opportunities.”

Opportunities for major cultural events

Scottish Government Business Minister Richard Lochhead said: “I am very pleased that £754,000 of Scottish Government funding will allow for the transformation of this historic site into a large-scale events venue. This will help to create opportunities for major cultural events that will attract hundreds of thousands of visitors, generate jobs and showcase Scotland’s incredible talent on the global stage.

“This is being delivered as part of our £45 million investment in the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal. The Deal aims to deliver up to 1,500 jobs by boosting green innovations, digital connectivity and cultural activities throughout the region.”

The City Park Stirling Business Justification Case was approved by the City Region Deal Joint Committee on Thursday 18 September. The City Region Deal’s Culture, Heritage and Tourism programme seeks to invest in the development of culture, heritage and tourism assets across the region.

Stirling’s strengths in culture, tourism and creative industries

Investment in City Park builds on Stirling’s strengths in culture, tourism and the creative industries. Earlier this year, research commissioned by London North Eastern Railway crowned Stirling as Scotland’s Culture Capital and travel experts Lonely Planet rated Stirling as Scotland’s Top Destination. Meanwhile, Stirling Council reported record visitor numbers to the local area, above the pre-pandemic peak and generating a total economic impact of £712.4 million.

In addition, for the first time ever, Stirling overtook Dundee to become the fourth most talked about Scottish city online, according to research from communications specialists ING Media. ING’s analysis identified a strong correlation between digital visibility, GDP and investment – which was reflected by finance experts EY forecasting Stirling to have Scotland’s fastest-growing economy over the next three years, with one of the UK’s top growth rates.

For more information on Stirling’s expertise in creative industries, please see here; or for further information on tourism and Stirling’s visitor economy, please see here.

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Background to Stirling City Park investment:

City Park Stirling is an open greenspace close to Stirling’s city centre that has been used to host a number of concerts, festivals, family and national events.

These include:

  • Runrig’s farewell concert, with 50,000 people attending over two days in August 2018.
  • Texas and Skippinish at the Big Top – Under Canvas Festival.
  • Stirling Summer Sessions in 2024 with events held over six days. Stirling’s headline acts included Shania Twain, Tom Jones and Busted. Over 20,000 attended the Shania Twain concert alone, with Go Forth Stirling reporting a 50% rise in city centre footfall and significant additional spending across city centre businesses.

For more information on the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal, visit: https://www.stirclacksdeal.com