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Eddie Howe says Newcastle need ‘world-class’ facilities if the club is to realise its ambitions and keep their top stars happy, after Mail Sport revealed an industry-leading firm of architects will design a new training ground.
US-based company Populous will provide the plans for a state-of-the-art complex that Newcastle’s Saudi-led owners hope will be the envy of the Premier League. Populous were the brains behind Real Madrid’s training centre and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Currently, Howe and his players are based at their out-dated Benton site and, while efforts have been made to improve those facilities, they are still way behind the standard of other top-flight clubs.
We understand staff have visited the training centres of Liverpool, Leicester and Tottenham to get a feel for what is possible, and the plans drawn up by Populous are said to be mightily impressive.
Infrastructural investment falls outside PSR calculations, and Howe believes that is one area where the Saudi owners can make a difference, especially as it would be a signal of the club’s ambition to the likes of Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon.
‘I’d certainly like to think so (owners will invest in infrastructure),’ said Howe, with plans for an improved St James’ Park or new stadium also in the pipeline. ‘The infrastructure is so important when you’re trying to build a football club upwards and forwards.
Eddie Howe has claimed that Newcastle need ‘world-class’ facilities to keep top stars happy
Mail Sport has revealed that industry-leading firm of architects will design a new training ground at the club
Populous to build their state-of-the-art training facility (pictured: plans for QPR’s training ground which are still showcased on their website pictured)
The move would be a signal of the club’s ambition to the likes of Alexander Isak (pictured)
‘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.’
Howe, though, says he has not been involved in the design of the training ground, unlike his hands-on approach when helping with plans for former club Bournemouth’s new complex.
‘I don’t think I will be (involved), that will be for other people to design,’ he said. ‘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.’
