City owners’ long term goal for East Manchester
MANCHESTER City’s investment in its new training base and academy facility will have “huge implications” for the local community and is proof of the club’s owners’ long term commitment ‘ to the city.
This is according to Jon Stemp, a member of Manchester City’s executive team and chief infrastructure officer.
Stemp, who is responsible for all property refurbishment, development and operational issues, said the club was determined to enagage with local people so they feel part of the regeneration around the Etihad Stadium and the 80-acre Openshaw West site.
“Community is at the heart of this football club and we see the Etihad Campus including the training and academy facility as a great opportunity for us to make a huge difference.
“The consultation exercise is all about listening, this is not a done deal,” he stressed.
Stemp, whose involvement at City came about through his work with the club’s Abu Dhabi-based owners prior to the 2008 takeover, said the project is hugely exciting, but won’t happen overnight.
Asked about timescale he said: “There are so many factors – it could be anywhere between three and six years, depending on the process. Not everything is within our control.”
Cleaning-up the site is the first step, followed by the purchase of the land the club does not already own.
“We have about 75 of the 79 acres of land. Our partners at the council have indicated they would be minded to begin a Compulsory Purchase Order if necessary, but we are working to avoid that scenario.”
After initially focused on improving the exisiting infrastructure at the Etihad Stadium, including the new head office and City Square fan zone, plans for the “medium to long-term” development of the club’s infrastructure began to be examined.
Stemp, pictured, said: “It became evident pretty quickly that we needed to look at creating a new world class facility for the academy and first team, one that would be fit for purpose over the next 20-30 years.
“The owners are always thinking long term and this investment will be a reflection of their ambitions to create a living, breathing success story. It will be one that takes many years to deliver.”
The new facilities include 16 football pitches, a 7,000 capacity ‘mini stadium’ for youth team matches, offices, a media centre, a first team training camp, plus community, health and educational facilities on five-and-a-half acres within the site.
Stemp, who remains a partner in Surrey-based consultancy Proleisure, said the academy and training hub was just “the first stage” of the overall Etihad Campus development – a major part of the £350m 10-year partnership between the football club and the airline.
Pete Bradshaw, head of infrastructure added: “The easy and quick thing for the club would have been to build on a green-field site in Cheshire, but this is an incredibly important part of the club’s future and the ethos behind it is about regeneration.
“It’s about street to stadium and we want this community in a former industrial part of the city to be apart of the growth and success of Manchester City.”
