One of the most famous names in the world of shinty is planning a major revamp of its home ground.
Kingussie Camanachd – once described as the planet’s most successful sports team – has lodged plans for a £100,000 upgrade of its 150-year-old home at the Dell.
The move is designed to boost its bid to host the game’s most prestigious event, the Camanachd Cup Final, for the first time this century.
Under the plans, a 100-seat grandstand would be built at the park on the banks of the River Spey, along with new team rooms and a resurfaced car parking area.
The club aims to complete the work by the end of next year, paving the way for a bid to host the 2020 Camanachd Cup Final.
It would be the first the time that the sport’s showpiece game has been played in Kingussie since 1999.
Co-manager and vice president Russell Jones said: “It’s a big, exciting development.
“It’s already widely recognised that we have the best playing surface, in shinty certainly, if not in other sports, and we want to bring our facilities up to that same standard.
“Our plan is that we would try to host the 2020 Camanachd Cup Final.”
The new team rooms would compliment the existing changing facilities, providing space for team talks before games and at half-time.
It is hoped the money can be raised with the help of local businesses, as well as contributions and grants from various sources.
The first recorded Kingussie New Year’s Day shinty game was played at the Dell in January 1867, and it has been the home of Kingussie Camanachd Club since it was formed in 1890.
The club reached a historic milestone in the summer of 2010 when it purchased the pitch and a surrounding car parking area from Dochfour Estate.
The 2005 Guinness Book of Records described Kingussie as the most successful club team in the world, after its first team won the league for a record 20 years in a row.
However, the club has won fewer Camanachd Cups that its rivals Newtonmore, and narrowly avoided relegation by finishing 9th in the sport’s 10-team Premiership last season.
