JIM SPENCE: Andy Murray Dunblane centre – creating legacy or dressed-up business venture?

The row over the proposed Andy Murray legacy tennis centre in Dunblane is as unedifying as it is potentially damaging to the name of a man regarded by many as Scotland’s greatest ever sports star.

Legacy is usually defined as the long-lasting impact an individual, in this case Murray and his glittering top career, has had and the imprint it leaves on others.

There’s little doubt that his influence on tennis in Scotland and indeed elsewhere has been enormous.

For a rain-swept small country like Scotland to produce one of the all-time tennis greats is in itself a tremendous achievement, and it’s perfectly correct that his contribution to the sport should be somehow recognised in his hometown and country.

Whether that recognition required the now shelved plans to build a £20 million sports centre in his hometown of Dunblane is another proposition entirely.

Judy Murray – a force of nature with an indomitable sense of purpose and drive – has now abandoned the plans initially inspired by the achievements of sons Andy and Jamie, who have enhanced Scotland’s sporting reputation on the world stage.

‘Locals unconvinced of benefits’

Legacy is one of the most intriguing words in the sporting lexicon.

I covered the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and Manchester for BBC, and both were tremendous sporting occasions.

However, the effect of any supposed legacy left by both events in both cities is debatable.

Have the citizens of both seen any major benefits to their daily lives?