London Colney - Training Ground

New Turbo Pool being installed at the training ground.



https://twitter.com/asb_mcm

 

Although it isn't anything to do with Watford or London Colney I thought I'd post this here so anyone who's interested doesn't have to open more than one thread on what is essentially the same topic, namely training grounds.

Liverpool are leaving their much vaunted Melwood training centre next month and moving into a new £50m(!) complex.
All teams will now train in the same place for the first time and it has to be said, it looks quite swish.

https://trainingground.guru/articles/liverpool-poised-to-move-into-new-£50m-kirkby-training-centre

This is the video included in the article above and for those not wanting to read about what they've done the complex includes 3 full-sized pitches, GK & warm-up areas, 2 gyms, a full-size sports hall, a pool, a hydrotherapy complex & sports rehab suites.



On a somewhat smaller scale, Bristol Rovers are building a new training centre called 'The Quarters' and the pitches are looking very nice. The club used them for the first time yesterday but are having to use facilities nearby to change, prepare etc., as Covid-19 has delayed the completion of the clubhouse and any major structures on the 28 acre site.

https://twitter.com/Official_BRFC/status/1321028874411520001?s=20

 

Having been lucky enough to have been invited to spend a day at Man Citys training ground, I can tell you that these modern training grounds are absolutely crazy. The food at the canteen was incredible, then the players briefing room (where the manager gives a talk about what they're going to be doing in training etc) is kitted out with super comfy cinema style seats (although I saw Tottenhams weren't that nice in their recent documentary!). Whilst the players then went out on the pitch, I went with one of the analysts to the analysis room, where each training pitch is hooked up to multiple cameras on huge poles that the analyst can remotely control from the analysis suite to ensure all the action and angles are covered. The Swansea training ground (although I got to see less of that) was really nice and had a new feel to it as well - although not sure when that was built!

 

While London Colney is probably as good a training ground the club have ever had, Liverpool's (post #37) and now the new Leicester City training facilities really are things of wonder. Although the architects of Leicester's complex do appear to be avid fans of the Teletubbies!

 

Now Leicester are a club with a strategy and a plan !! (Yes they have more money behind them) ... but Gino and Duxbury take note any sort of Strategy would be good - even a crap one !!!

 

"Best of the rest"

 

We should of asked who “the rest” were !!

 

You can question the player/manager strategy, but they have definitely improved all of our facilities.

 

Shame it's wasted on their fans. Horrible collection of under achievers, however, the club itself is absolutely brilliant. I love everything about what they do and how they do it. Such a sad day when Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha died. His son Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha is carrying on the legacy though.

There are not many clubs I'm envious of, but Leicester are certainly one of them.

 

That Leicester training ground is a thing of wonder, amazing. Imagine turning up for work there every day.

 

Not only does the new Leicester City training complex look like a secret base for a Marvel superhero/villain, it's also packed full of features too. Not surprising when it cost somewhere between £80m and £100m to build but still, not a bad place to turn up for work every morning.

Oh, the players train there for the first time on December 24th.
Merry Christmas lads, lots of love - Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha (the Chairman).



Here's a write up from TrainingGround.Guru. (I've edited a couple of typo's and name errors).

https://trainingground.guru/article...-new-training-ground-as-dream-becomes-reality

Leicester to move into new training ground as dream becomes reality

LEICESTER CITY will train at their new £95m Seagrave training ground for the the first time on Christmas Eve.

The 180-acre site has been under construction since Spring 2019 and will be home to the men’s first team and Academy. The club have described it as the best training facility in Europe. It features:

• 14 full-sized pitches (21 playing surfaces in total)
• 499-seater floodlit show pitch
• The Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Building – the training, medical and administrative hub for the first team and Academy
• ‘Elite-standard’ sports science and medical facilities
• Gym and hydrotherapy facilities
• The King Power Centre, housing an indoor pitch and media centre
• Sports Turf Academy for the education and development of ‘industry-leading grounds staff’
• Private nine-hole golf course

Belvoir Drive, which has been Leicester City’s training ground for almost 60 years, will now become home to Leicester Women from the start of 2021. The women’s team was acquired by the club in August and turned professional in the summer.

Chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said: “The club has taken some enormous strides forward in the last 10 years. In terms of our long-term future, this is perhaps the biggest.

“A new training ground has been a dream many years in the making, so it is with great pride that we have been able to deliver this. Seagrave will be a pivotal part of the club’s operation for generations to come.

“Of all the investments we have made in the club, this has been our most significant. It is an investment in our players of today and our players of tomorrow, putting some of the very best facilities in the world at the heart of their everyday environment.

“It elevates the club’s offering to its players and staff to an entirely new level and is a key component in making our progress of recent years sustainable.

“Belvoir Drive has served the club wonderfully and been a spiritual home for Leicester City teams through several generations. For it to become the home of LCFC Women is a fine legacy for an historic location.

“The investments we have made in the last 10 years have made it an outstanding, professional training ground from which their considerable development can continue.”

The centrepoints of the new training facility are:

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Building
The primary hub of the Seagrave site, the building is named after the club’s late chairman and owner. The building includes offices, private accommodation, restaurant and first-team recreation facilities. Balconies overlook the first team training pitches.

King Power Centre
The King Power Centre is the site’s most prominent structure. Its dome, built into the landscape, houses an air-conditioned, artificial pitch and a media centre, including press conference room, broadcast facilities and hospitality space.

Match pitch 1
A 499-seater show pitch for use for selected FA Youth Cup, Premier League 2 and Women’s matches, serviced by changing facilities and broadcast compound.

Sports Turf Academy
A 'first-of-its-kind' facility for the education and development of elite grounds staff and grounds services. The Sports Turf Academy will aim to train future generations of grounds professionals 'for deployment in sporting settings around the world', while creating a research and development hub for innovations in turf management.

The King Power Centre (below) houses an air-conditioned artificial pitch
​

 

Amazing how much things have moved on. I remember in the late nineties when I was at school my best mate was a Chelsea fan and we lived local to their Harlington training ground. We used to go there on school holidays and go and watch youth team games on the weekend. You could just walk into the main building and speak the players, imagine doing that now!

 

499 seater stadium?! Could they not find space for an extra seat to take it to an even 500?

 

When I first read it it immediately irritated and annoyed me. I do wonder now though whether there's a seat set aside for the owner who died a couple of years ago. But yeah, 499 is bloody annoying!

 

Might be a planning or safety certificate thing - certain capacity brackets require extra safety measures/staffing for events. Less than 500 could be the limit before you need to employ extra stewards etc.

 

Does anybody know what the latest news is regarding the dome?

It was reported back in the summer that we'd been ordered to take it down: Watford Football Club's London Colney training dome must go.

But this recent video (8/12) posted on X from training clearly shows it's still there:


Has Pozzo used his experience with shady dealings to grease the right palms at the council, or is the club just stalling as much as possible?

To be honest, the complaints stated in the article that it spoils the surrounding views - "Labour councillor Christian Gray, said it was almost like we have got the O2 dome stuck in the countryside and Conservative councillor Natalie Susman said it was a real, actual, physical blot on the landscape - are ridiculous when the pictures in the very same article show you can barely see the thing.

Just wondered if anybody knew if it's still coming down or not?

 

Here’s one I built earlier (the refurb and fit-out)