The youngest-ever winner of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award will be celebrated alongside other local stars when an iconic Aberdeen building reopens as a new visitor attraction.
Provost Skene’s House in the city centre is being redeveloped by Aberdeen City Council to tell the story of the north-east’s global impact in the fields of sport, science, entertainment, business and the arts.
The line-up of sporting champions will include swimmer Ian Black, who in 1958 was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year ahead of footballer Bobby Charlton and Formula One driver Stirling Moss.
Fittingly, the award ceremony will be coming to the Granite City for the first time in its 65-year history on December 15 at P&J Live – with Mr Black in attendance.
The former Robert Gordon’s College pupil received the coveted silver trophy as a 17-year-old, before studying at Aberdeen University.
He was expected to win gold at the Rome Olympics in 1960, but his preparations were hampered by a lack of access to training facilities in Aberdeen, which meant he was forced to brave the freezing water at Stonehaven’s outdoor pool.
Also featuring in the sporting champions section of Provost Skene’s House will be fellow swimmer Hannah Miley, rower Dame Katherine Grainger, footballing legends Denis Law, Sir Alex Ferguson and Willie Miller, cyclist Neil Fachie, canoeist Tim Baillie, golfer Paul Lawrie, and strongman Donald Dinnie.
The £3.8million renovation and redevelopment of Provost Skene’s House will be completed in time for the reopening in 2021.
