Jump to content

Staplewood training ground update


Matthew Le God

Recommended Posts

Very nice. The discrepancy between the artists impressions and the reality is always amusing though.

 

there have been some revisions over time but the main body looks as expected

1297417721_11.jpg

 

Originally when first publicly unveiled it looked like this...

 

231209-southampton.jpg

 

It was also going to look like this at one point...

 

?type=display

 

2vj8jdt.jpg

 

A key reason the cost doubled to £30m is because the main pavilion it is now significantly bigger, as is the scale and scope of the development as a whole which has now expanded into nearby fields.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We must be a million miles away from that at present.

Good. Our average attendance last season dropped by around 600 from the previous year. And it was around 1,500 down on our all time Premier League average high. All that, despite having our most successful season in Premier League history and playing a remarkably entertaining brand of football.

 

Talking up the prospect of a new, bigger stadium would show a complete lack of prioritisation of issues, and a flagrant disregard for business sense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good. Our average attendance last season dropped by around 600 from the previous year. And it was around 1,500 down on our all time Premier League average high. All that, despite having our most successful season in Premier League history and playing a remarkably entertaining brand of football.

 

Talking up the prospect of a new, bigger stadium would show a complete lack of prioritisation of issues, and a flagrant disregard for business sense.

 

Is that the home crowd down 600 or the away crowd? I would reckon that the away crowd average was down this year. The third factor is the corporate crowd, this again was poor earlier in the season.

 

Back to the thread, what us the latest on the training ground?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

BnwlO-0CMAAb6oz.jpg:large

 

I can already see Hooiveld awkwardly looking around with a smirk on his face as Lovren says "where are those bubbles coming from?"

 

From today...

 

BpYSX-VIAAAZGyJ.jpg

 

BpYSs6BIYAAgQ0W.jpg

 

BpYSm9nIQAAQeBR.jpg

 

Glad to see the club is investing to repeat last year's groundsman of the year award. What will the player's use? O well, their problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for posting the pics, I drove past yesterday and wondered what the situation was with the different types of surfaces that were being installed, do other training grounds have that kind of detail?

 

Looking good, very professional looking set-up for players, potential players and new coaching staff. World leading Southampton Football Club......!:smug::smug:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where are the pictures of the Cortese glass elevator?

 

Is it just me that imagines something like the elevator in Charlie and the Chocloate factory? Where Cortese was able to smash through the ceiling, out of Staplewood and hang in air hovering over his kingdom.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry Turks - that one's a bit subtle for me! :?

 

Two ways of looking at it. On a purely property level, if you spent £10k on your house, it should increase the value of your house by more than £10k. So in theory, spending £30m on it means it is now worth a lot more than £30m more than it was previously. But of course, that value is only realised if someone were to want to buy it, which is obviously unlikely for a training ground.

 

So the second option is that we'll be judging it against the potential future value of Academy graduates and other players who we improve and either sell, or who contribute to future success. If we win (I know, I know) the league or get into the Champions League with input from Academy players or others who've benefitted from the facilities, then it will be 'worth' far more than £30m in years to come.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two ways of looking at it. On a purely property level, if you spent £10k on your house, it should increase the value of your house by more than £10k. So in theory, spending £30m on it means it is now worth a lot more than £30m more than it was previously. But of course, that value is only realised if someone were to want to buy it, which is obviously unlikely for a training ground.

 

So the second option is that we'll be judging it against the potential future value of Academy graduates and other players who we improve and either sell, or who contribute to future success. If we win (I know, I know) the league or get into the Champions League with input from Academy players or others who've benefitted from the facilities, then it will be 'worth' far more than £30m in years to come.

 

Think you've missed the point too. I imagine Turkish was referring to the fact that the upgrades should have cost £15-£20m but because of the constant design and spec changes when work was already underway what should have been a c£17m project turned into a £30m one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Think you've missed the point too. I imagine Turkish was referring to the fact that the upgrades should have cost £15-£20m but because of the constant design and spec changes when work was already underway what should have been a c£17m project turned into a £30m one.

 

Yep, valid point. Hard to tell exactly what he meant, chances are you're right though, given him mentioning the budget before.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have to say the groundstaff are all really decent, always bantering on twitter so if you ping something their way they are more than likely gonna reply.

 

they should spend more time working on our pitches than on twitter... have you seen the state of the pitches at SMS and the training ground? AWFUL! ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry Turks - that one's a bit subtle for me! :?

 

I think the point that Turkish was trying to make is that; If you buy a 20k car and then you decide you don't like the colour, so you get it re-sprayed and then you decide you don't like the upholstery, so you get that changed and so on and so on, until it is exactly how you like it, you may well have spent 40k, but it is still only a 20k car.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the point that Turkish was trying to make is that; If you buy a 20k car and then you decide you don't like the colour, so you get it re-sprayed and then you decide you don't like the upholstery, so you get that changed and so on and so on, until it is exactly how you like it, you may well have spent 40k, but it is still only a 20k car.

 

That doesn't really work as analogy as thats not really what happened with the training ground. The original plans weren't actually built, knocked down and new ones built, what actually happened is the designs were significantly increased in scope and scale and then built.

Edited by Matthew Le God
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whilst contractors paid idle staff. Thats the point.

 

That is an additional cost, but not a huge one. The majority of the extra £15m in costs is due to the site being extended into next door fields, better high spec pitches, the 3G pitch, more buildings (at a higher spec), a new training dome etc all of which not in original plan.

Edited by Matthew Le God
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the point that Turkish was trying to make is that; If you buy a 20k car and then you decide you don't like the colour, so you get it re-sprayed and then you decide you don't like the upholstery, so you get that changed and so on and so on, until it is exactly how you like it, you may well have spent 40k, but it is still only a 20k car.

 

This whole overspend as a result of 'constant' design changes is another urban myth invented and peddled by the NC bathers.

 

Like ken all major projects, I am sure there has been some small detail changes that make it more expensive than if part of the original plans.... But 15mil? Seriously you believe that was down to such 'messing about'?

 

if everyone cares to recall, the original work began when we were NOT in the prem... So were of a more modest level, but with room for additional phases in future. when we were promoted it was communicated that the club were going to press ahead with the next bigger phase, (as we had additional prem revenues) ... Seriously, anyone who actually believes we're turned a 15mil project into a 30 mil one through incompetence is letting their dislike of NC prejudice their opinion.... Which is nothing particularly new on here

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is an additional cost, but not a huge one. The majority of the extra £15m in costs is due to the site being extended into next door fields, better pitches, the 3G pitch, more buildings (at a higher spec), a new training dome etc.

 

Its no good MLG, the urban myth peddlers insist NC blew 15 mil because he could not decide on the colour of the curtains and therefore had all those Pompey supporting builders idle for 15mil worth of man hours....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its no good MLG' date=' the urban myth peddlers insist NC blew 15 mil because he could not decide on the colour of the curtains and therefore had all those Pompey supporting builders idle for 15mil worth of man hours....[/quote']

 

You've become comically dour and lost since you've moved to Scotland, coincidence? You should go and see the new Reid Building at the Glasgow School of Art to see what £30m should buy. High spec, New York designer, four times the size and a hilly, brownfield site (much more difficult to build on).

 

23639702.jpg

 

Glasgow-school-of-_2837706b.jpg

 

09-glasgow-school-of-art-reid-bldg-steven-holl-archpaper.jpg

Edited by buctootim
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Speaking as a layman on training grounds this facility looks very good to me; I can well imagine it would impress potential signees. Can anyone tell me how it compares to facilities at other clubs, i.e. can we now lay claim to having one of the best training grounds in the country, Europe, world etc?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Speaking as a layman on training grounds this facility looks very good to me; I can well imagine it would impress potential signees. Can anyone tell me how it compares to facilities at other clubs, i.e. can we now lay claim to having one of the best training grounds in the country, Europe, world etc?

 

Its very good and a huge improvement. My only gripe is we paid more than necessary. Most of the clubs above us have better and most of the clubs below worse so we're about where we 'should' be.

 

For comparison this is what Pochettino has gone to.

http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/the-club/new-training-centre/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...