Crystal Palace Chairman Steve Parish has provided a positive update about the club’s redevelopment plans, which are due to be discussed by Croydon Council’s Planning Committee in four weeks’ time. Read more
Potential market rates for English Premier League stadium naming rights have grown from £74.6m in 2013 to £135.6m in 2017, according to new research by global valuation and corporate finance advisor Duff & Phelps. Read more
Key steps towards the installation of the world-first dividing retractable pitch at Tottenham Hotspur FC’s new stadium are now taking place at the Premier League club. Read more
A number of Premier League and English Football League (EFL) clubs have invested in new virtual replacement perimeter technology this season. Read more
English football fans who had hoped Premier League and Championship clubs were close to a deal on allowing safe standing at their grounds have suffered a blow. Read more
Manchester United has confirmed plans for improvements to Old Trafford’s provision for disabled supporters. Read more
Fulham Football Club has unveiled the upgrades to its Motspur Park Training Ground, which have been funded entirely by Chairman Shahid Khan. Read more
Premier League football clubs are being given the opportunity to apply for funding to help fans with sensory difficulties. Read more
Burnley Football Club has returned to the Premier League this season and Turf Moor will be lit up with Musco’s LED floodlights. Read more
ADI has installed a ground-breaking new stadium screen at Carrow Road, the home of Norwich City Football Club, helping to transform the matchday experience for fans in the stadium. Read more
West Ham United will welcome 57,000 fans to the London Stadium for their first home Premier League match against AFC Bournemouth this Sunday. Read more
Local football facilities are set to benefit from £102m of investment over the next three years after the Premier League, The FA, and the government (via Sport England) committed to financing a new fund that will provide grants towards developing new or refurbished grassroots football facilities.
The Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund will be delivered by the Football Foundation on behalf of the funding partners, and will provide financial support toward the development of new or refurbished community sports facilities. It will begin to provide this investment from mid-January 2014.
Many of the new state-of-the-art facilities will serve to strengthen the connection between professional football clubs and their local communities, particularly in the most deprived areas of the country, through the professional clubs’ community trusts’ outreach work.
Helen Grant MP, Minister for Sport and Equalities, said:
This partnership between the Premier League, the FA, Sport England and Government shows what can be achieved when the public and private sectors work together to help strengthen our national game at the grassroots.
Richard Scudamore, Premier League Chief Executive, added:
Having been a Trustee of the Football Foundation since the very start, I have seen first-hand how these new sports facilities can help to regenerate communities and increase participation amongst those who play our national game. By committing £36m over the three years to developing more and better public sports sites, we hope to continue that regeneration.
Alex Horne, The FA’s General Secretary, said:
The funding that The FA has invested through the Football Foundation has dramatically improved local football facilities up and down the country and is a key part of The FA’s four-year National Game Strategy, a £200 million investment into the grassroots game.
Pictured: Sports Minister Hugh Robertson opening a typical Football Foundation project in Wyberton, Lincolnshire, UK.
Manchester City Football Club is busy developing both Etihad Stadium and its proposed training facility. It has undertaken a public consultation on the Youth Development and Training Facility on 80 acres of brown field land diagonally opposite the Etihad Stadium. The opinions of the residents of East Manchester will help shape the club’s submission for planning approval. Planning consent to improve the land in Openshaw West, acquired by the Club over the past two years, was granted in June and remediation work on the site is under way.
Key elements and benefits of the proposals are as follows:
The centre would not only provide the Club with a competitive edge in terms of recruitment of players of all ages, but would also more than meet the requirements for a grade 1 Academy as set out by the Premier League’s new Elite Player Performance Plan.
All aspects of the Club’s youth development, first team training and operations functions would be brought into the one location in the heart of East Manchester and would include:
Garry Cook, CEO of Manchester City Football Club said:
Manchester City’s ambition is to be a successful and sustainable football club and youth recruitment and development through a top class facility is a key component of that ambition. Our research to date has been painstaking and our planning comprehensive and whilst our plans would inevitably have a positive impact on both our young and established playing talent, the regenerative and economic impact for our community should not be underestimated. We welcome the views of all of the communities we serve as we seek to gain planning permission for this most exciting of proposals.
Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said:
The partnership between Manchester City Football Club, the Council and New East Manchester would accelerate the regeneration of the area, delivering significant community and economic benefits. This new facility would help us continue to improve education and skills and will create jobs and other opportunities for local residents as well as being a further example of the club’s investment in the area.
It would be complementary to other proposed developments in the area, which would combine together to fulfil our vision for East Manchester as a centre for elite sport.
