Progress made on Sheffield United's new Dore training facility as new owners press on with future plans
Ball rolling on Sheffield United plans for new Dore training facility after new owners press on with future plans
Progress on Sheffield United’s new training facility in Dore has ramped up again after Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy’s purchase of the Blades just before Christmas, The Star understands. Work on the site could not commence as the finer details of the American’s deal with former owner Abdullah bin Mosaad Al Saud were ironed out.
And while the new ownership group flexed their financial muscle in the January transfer market, funding a big-money deal for striker Tom Cannon as one of five new senior arrivals to bolster Chris Wilder’s squad, they were also keen to put plans in the place for the future, including the new Dore facility.
In his farewell message after selling the Blades, Prince Abdullah revealed that plans for the new first-team site include a new building “as well as four full pitches, six 5x5 pitches and other facilities.” The move will also allow United to dedicate the Shirecliffe site, which doubles up as their current training ground, to the academy, to further the aim of gaining category one status.
Despite a perceived lack of progress at the Dore site, which previously housed the HSBC Sports Ground in one of Sheffield’s most affluent areas, sources have told The Star that work is going on behind the scenes. We understand that United have begun the tender process over the planned buildings on the site and aim to meet potential stakeholders next month.
Work is also ongoing at the site in Crookes that is owned by the Blades but has been closed since the Covid-19 pandemic, with the aim of installing floodlights and 3G which could enable those displaced from the HSBC site at Dore to use that facility as an alternative. United were keen to add floodlights to the site to enable it to be used in the evenings and improve its viability, a planning application revealed last year.
Rosen and Eltoukhy’s COH Sports group - which has welcomed new investors since it took control of United, including renowned Marvel director Joe Russo - are yet to conduct any external interviews regarding their plans for the Blades, despite requests to their public relations company. But they did pledge to improve the club on and off the pitch in their initial statement to supporters, with the new training facility seen as a big part of their plans.