Campus-style training ground among range of longer-term Sheffield Wednesday options - £3m site sold-off
Sheffield Wednesday’s investment effort is set to continue into the years to come, The Star understands.
The vast enhancement of club training facilities is among the longer-term projects in the pipeline at Sheffield Wednesday as the club continues to move quickly through the early stages of its rebuilding stage.
New owners Arise have already committed an eight-figure sum towards stadium improvements and shorter-term upgrades to their existing Middlewood Road facilities, the size and quality of which have been a topic of contention among football staff at the club in years gone by.
The Star has previously reported that the club’s new ownership have explored the suitability of alternative sites to its current S6 dwelling, based a short walk from the club’s Hillsborough stadium base, with some considerations having been brought to key figures even before Arise had fully taken charge. The Star understands considerations are also being had over whether a new, ‘campus-style’ site - building and extending out of Middlewood Road - is among the options being weighed-up for the longer-term with all options being considered. No decisions have yet been made.
After decades of underinvestment into club facilities, Arise have already committed to a vast, eight-figure spend on rescuing the club’s stadium, with further shorter-term enhancements having been completed at the training facility. A tweaked layout, widespread cosmetic changes and a vastly improved gym facility are among the changes to have taken place at the existing training site, along with the easing of pressure on the facilities with the moving of many academy commitments to the Sheffield Hallam University Sports Park on Bawtry Road.
Owls figures past and present have spoken about the lack of space at Middlewood Road as an issue and any longer-term plans would bring the academy groups back onto the same facility as that of the senior cohort, along with further facility considerations that would one day satisfy ‘Category A’ academy criteria. A large acreage is desired to allow for expansion as the club grows. There is currently space for only two grass pitches at the current site.
Asked about immediate enhancement to the facility and a club desire to broaden things in the years to come, Owls boss Henrik Pedersen told The Star from Middlewood Road recently: “It has already given us a big, big boost. What they have done now in such a short space of time, it's amazing.
“With the new gym, look outside here, it looks like a real training ground now. We have done so many things that are in the right direction, but we also know if we are thinking two, three, four years ahead, then we are thinking still bigger than this. I know they have big dreams for Sheffield Wednesday and big dreams mean you have to think big - and then you also have to think higher standards than what we have now. But we really, really have to appreciate all that they have done.
“We have a good level now and no excuses not to perform well for the physical on the pitch. We have a very, very good set-up compared to what we had, so I'm really happy.”
One of the many potential sites that has been looked at is that of the former Mount St Marys College site at Spinkhill - but is now off the table after it was purchased for £3,163,000 by the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM), a Nigerian religious group based in Lagos that claims to have over a million members. The 80-acre site also housed an associated prep school, Barlborough Hall School, and was placed into administration last year.
The Star’s understanding is that the club’s new order were never sold on the idea of uprooting to the Derbyshire address, set south of Killamarsh, given its distance from Sheffield and the difficulties an out-of-city site would present to academy players and families. Explorations continue.