Special Event Marks Opening of Wolves Academy & Arena
- Wolves Academy & Arena ‘amongst the very best youth facilities in football’
- Development played a part in securing ‘Category One’ status as one of the best Academies in the country
- Wolves donates Aldersley Arena to Wolves Community Trust
- Academy development completes the unique public/private sector Compton Park partnership
Wolves Chairman, Steve Morgan, has officially opened the Wolves Academy & Arena at the Club’s Compton Park training complex, in a special event attended by MPs, Councillors, businesses, members of the local community and the public and private sector partners in the overall Compton Park development project, plus guests from football’s main governing bodies, and both current, and former, Academy / First Team staff and players.
Construction of the new £7 million Wolves Academy & Arena began during the summer of 2013, as the Club prepared for what turned out to be a title-winning Sky Bet League One campaign, featuring Academy graduates such as Danny Batth, Carl Ikeme, Jack Price, Matt Doherty, Lee Evans, Liam McAlinden, Aaron McCarey, Zeli Ismail and Ethan Ebanks-Landell. This carried on the Club’s proud tradition of bringing through talented young players to graduate as full-time professional footballers, with the Academy having previously produced international players such as Robbie Keane, Matt Murray, Keith Andrews and Joleon Lescott.
The plans behind the Wolves Academy & Arena have been developed over a number of years, with staff visiting the best youth facilities at home and abroad to help hone the final designs. The development played an important role in the Club’s commitment towards securing ‘Category One’ status for a minimum of three years – the highest status that can be awarded by the Premier League’s academy accreditation system.
This puts Wolves in a very strong position to attract, develop and retain the very best youth players, with Wolves’ entire training facilities – for players from around nine years of age through to the first team - all based on the same site, with highly qualified and experienced staff coaching young players based on Wolves’ playing philosophy, which is consistent from the youngest age groups through to the first team.
Guests were shown the TigerTurf indoor 3G training pitch with viewing balcony, dressing rooms, classroom, offices, state-of-the-art gym and medical facilities and the ‘Wolves Family Suite’ which overlooks the current outdoor floodlit 3G pitch at Compton Park. Around 80 Wolves Academy players participated in coaching sessions on the indoor TigerTurf 3G pitch and a selection of Wolves Academy players conducted guided tours, with guests being able to see players using the gym, analysis rooms and classroom.
The completion of the Wolves Academy & Arena marks the final piece of the overall Compton Park development. The carefully co-ordinated plans were originally prompted by the decision of the University of Wolverhampton to vacate its Compton Park Campus. This led to a unique £50m private/public sector development project for the entire Compton Park site.
Organisations joining Wolves in the overall development included University of Wolverhampton, Building Schools for the Future, Wolverhampton City Council, Redrow Homes PLC, Bridgemere Group, St. Edmund’s Catholic Academy, St Peter’s Collegiate School, Wolverhampton College, and others, all working together to create something special for the future benefit of the entire City
The overall Compton Park development led to 150 direct construction jobs being created, plus an additional 250 indirect jobs in the supply chain. (see notes to editors).
In addition, Wolves have donated the Aldersley Arena at Aldersley Leisure Village, where the Academy schoolboys were based, to Wolves Community Trust (WCT). The facility, recently valued at around £700,000, has now been vacated by the Wolves Academy and WCT will be using the Arena exclusively to deliver community projects based on its five core themes: Health, Education & Enterprise, Social Inclusion, Community Sports and finally, via Wolves Aid, community donations. The Arena has been renamed as the ‘Wolves Community Trust Arena.’ See www.wolvescommunitytrust.org.uk for more details.
Steve Morgan, Chairman, Wolves, said, “Wolves have a great history of developing young players, which stretches right back to the days of Major Frank Buckley and then Stan Cullis. This culture and philosophy very much appealed to be me when I became custodian of the Club and it’s something which I’ve always been determined to nurture and take forward.
“The Wolves Academy & Arena will give our highly qualified coaches, and our young players from around nine years of age upwards, every possible chance of maximising their potential by becoming successful professional footballers, hopefully making it through to the Wolves first team.
“Parents of young players will know that their child will be training at one of the top-rated academies in the country, developed by the best coaches at a top-class facility, giving them the best possible provisions.
“I’m sure the Club and the community will benefit from this great facility for many, many years to come. The Wolves Academy & Arena has been one part of the unique Compton Park public / private sector partnership – which has been a tremendous example of what can be done when organisations – from a variety of industries and backgrounds - work together for the benefit of the entire City.
“The fact we’ve been able to now donate the vacated Aldersley Arena to Wolves Community Trust is the icing on the cake and a huge source of pride for everyone connected to the Club. I’m delighted that all children – regardless of their sporting ability and background – will benefit from the Compton Park development in some way. It’s a momentous day for Wolves.”
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