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Liverpool is plotting a multi-million dollar revamp of its academy facilities, with the club aiming for work on the project to be completed by 2028, in a bid to assist the development of the next Rio Ngumoha.
The current main academy pitch will have a dome built over it, while a new outdoor pitch will be constructed which will have seating for up to 500 spectators.
Liverpool said that the redevelopment will also "include revamped and improved medical and sports science functions to aid in the progress of the club’s younger age groups."
The Reds said that a planning application for the works will be "submitted in due course", and academy director Alex Inglethorpe said of the project: “It’s a big statement.
“The owners have embarked on a number of infrastructure projects in recent years with the redevelopment of the two stands at Anfield, building the AXA Training Centre to put us all on one site here at Kirkby, and giving Melwood a facelift for the women’s team to go there.
“We’ve always been patient as an academy, knowing where we sit in the order of things, but now it’s our turn and it’s really exciting.
“We’ve never had a full-size indoor facility before that would match up with a lot of our competitors. While I’m all for toughening them up in the Kirkby wind and rain, there are a lot of days when we have to cancel training or the quality of a session is compromised. It’s going to make a massive difference.”
The latest planned works follow a number of changes that were recently made to the academy facilities.
Floodlights have already been installed which mean that all outdoor facilities can be used later in the day at times of the year when the sun sets early in the evening, while a number of small-sided pitches have also been integrated into the set-up, as well as a padbol court — a sport which merges tennis, squash, volleyball, and soccer.
“We’re already reaping the benefits of the changes made this summer,” added Inglethorpe. “It’s important for the boys and their families to see that investment.
“We’re constantly trying to evaluate and innovate. The boys are here from six years of age, four times a week - you can’t lose that magic, you have to find new ways of them really wanting to be here. The padbol court is being well used and it’s the same with the cages.”
English (US) ·