Building work at the Club’s Staplewood Training Ground continues to progress at an impressive rate as we approach the turn of the year.
With the steel framework and roof of the main pavilion now in place, the shape and size of the eye-catching building has started to dominate the site.
As part of the initial plans for the project, the existing ‘Dome’ building – originally constructed in 2006 – was due to undergo a sensitive renovation to help integrate the existing facility into the new build.
However, during construction of the main pavilion the Club was informed by our contractors of concerns regarding the stability and strength of the Dome structure.
These concerns led to a recent temporary pause in the project whilst specific aspects of the best way forward were agreed. With that process now complete, work restarted two weeks ago.
During this brief hiatus it was agreed that the Club’s contractors would demolish the existing Dome building and then rebuild the structure from scratch. Architects are well into the process of redesigning the Dome and planning documents for the new structure are set to be submitted within weeks.
This decision will require significant additional investment in the project than was initially anticipated, but it is felt this investment will guarantee that the state of the art facility meets the precise requirements of the Academy going forward.
The new Dome will seamlessly integrate into the main pavilion building and primarily act as an Academy hub, housing the Academy education centre, medical centre and gymnasium, along with a 3G indoor pitch.
Despite this dramatic new development to the site, there has been no impact to the progress of the rest of the project, with the outdoor 3G pitch one of many new facilities to have already been completed.