PIF approve ‘biggest Newcastle United investment since £300m takeover’ – official announcement expected
Dominic Scurr
4 – 5 minutes
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Newcastle United are set to proceed with plans to build a new world-class training complex, with an official announcement expected.
Newcastle have already invested around £10million to upgrade the current training site at Darsley Park in 2022. While further upgrades are expected on the current site, the club’s medium to long-term plans are to move to a new purpose-built site elsewhere.
Two sites have already been shortlisted as options for the club. One location is around Newcastle Racecourse, which is owned by the Reuben Brothers. The other is north-west of the city towards Newcastle Airport.
Both options would provide ample space to build a state-of-the-art training complex along with good links to St James’ Park and the city centre. As per our sister-title NewcastleWorld, a budget of around £200million has been approved to build the complex with an official announcement set to be made by the club in due course.
It would mark the single largest investment made into the club since the £300million October 2021 takeover led by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.
The progressing training ground plans come amid the club’s stadium redevelopment plans, which have been ongoing for the past 18 months. A formal announcement regarding the future of St James’ Park is expected later this year.
According to Mail Online, Newcastle will partner with world-leading architects Populous to design the new training ground. Populous was behind the design of Real Madrid’s training complex which includes indoor and outdoor training facilities, a swimming pool, various function rooms and a 20,000-seater stadium.
Newcastle’s training complex plans will include a small purpose-built stadium on-site similar to the one seen at Real Madrid.
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What Eddie Howe has said about Newcastle United’s training ground plans
While head coach Eddie Howe played a significant role in the redevelopment of AFC Bournemouth’s training ground during his time with The Cherries, he will be ‘in the background’ when it comes to Newcastle’s plans.
“I don’t think I will be [involved],” Howe said. “That will be for other people to design. You have to remember the history of Bournemouth, I was all over everything!
“I don’t mean that as a negative, there just wasn’t the infrastructure that there is here. We had gone from League Two to the Premier League.
“This is a very different club and with decisions around the training ground and stadium, I will be very much in the background, hearing what is happening from the experts involved and, hopefully, looking on in awe at what we’re going to do.”
Fortunately for Newcastle, investment into club infrastructure such as the training ground and stadium are not taken into account when it comes to Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules. And that gives majority owners PIF the first real opportunity to properly flex its financial muscles so to speak.
“I’d certainly like to think so,” Howe said when asked if PIF’s ambition can be made clear with investment into the infrastructure. “That’s really important and I always say that when you’re trying to build a football club upwards and forwards. The infrastructure is so important.
“The training ground is where the players live day to day. That environment is key. It can help you recruit players. It can help you keep players happy.
“We need world-class facilities if the club’s ambitions are to be realised and, of course, that’s interlinked to the stadium. Our stadium is fantastic now and I love playing there but if we are to improve, whether that means staying or leaving, whatever the outcome, trying to bring world-class facilities here will be a game-changer for us.”
