Newcastle United are moving closer to confirming plans for a new training ground, with Seaton Burn emerging as the surprise frontrunner site, according to the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope.
Hope reports that “club chiefs have visited land in Seaton Burn, close to the Holiday Inn roundabout and the meeting point of the A1 and A19, eight miles north of the city centre. Sources say this is now the favoured location for the state-of-the-art training base that will be designed by world-renowned architects Populous.”
Chief operating officer Brad Miller is leading the project after earlier interest in other sites fell through.
“An offer was made on another plot earlier this year. The club walked away after the cost increased late in the process. Land near Woolsington and Ponteland has been explored, as well as close to Newcastle Racecourse,” Hope reported.
Seaton Burn is said to appeal strongly due to its transport links, particularly for academy players and their families, with road and bus access rated highly. Populous, the architects behind Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium and Real Madrid Sports City, are expected to collaborate with Tyneside-based FaulknerBrowns on the design.
The blueprint is described as ambitious, with facilities to include indoor and outdoor pitches, a mini stadium, accommodation, spa-level recovery areas, a media suite, and a cinema room for tactical presentations. Newcastle want a complex to rival Manchester City and Real Madrid, helping to attract and develop elite players.
While completion is still several years away, Hope states that “an announcement of the ambitious plans this side of Christmas is possible should the Seaton Burn site be confirmed.”
