Kingman Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 O’Brien has started work with Aston Villa Football Club to relocate parts of their training ground to make way for HS2. The contract involves enabling works for nine natural pitches and one 3G pitch at the club’s Recon Training Ground in Bodymoor Heath, Tamworth. The pitches are being relocated on the training ground site because of planned HS2 construction. An HS2 Ltd spokesperson said: “A portion of Aston Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground is needed for phase one of the HS2 project.” O’Brien’s Tony Mitchell, Operations Manager, said: “The HS2 scheme will have a major impact locally and on the Recon training facility, which will lose a large portion of the current training ground. “The project is part of the greater plan to allow the football club to maintain existing facilities and replace those affected by HS2. “We plan to make this transition as simple as possible for Aston Villa and help to create an outstanding new facility for them that will ensure the future of the training academy is not threatened by HS2.” O’Brien will provide plateaus and associated works for the construction of the new pitches, which will be provided by other contractors. The works include demolition, the forming of plateaus on site using site won and imported materials, the construction of a new haul road, drainage ditches, land drains, ponds and associated works. Work has currently started on site and is due for completion in September. http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2018/06/13/aston-villa-move-training-ground-to-make-way-for-hs2/ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadster23 Posted August 2, 2018 Visiting Supporter Share Posted August 2, 2018 (edited) Work progressing nicely; Edited August 2, 2018 by Dadster23 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reivax_Villa Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 (edited) I forgot where but I saw someone suggested Bodymoor Heath is like a holiday resort opposed to a limited training ground which could lead to why we have an underlying issue at this club. I never thought of this and I thought that it was an interesting subject to raise. Do you think that the high quality facilities is having a negative impact on our players or do you think that this thought is rubbish? Edited February 17, 2019 by Reivax_Villa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted February 17, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted February 17, 2019 5 minutes ago, Reivax_Villa said: Do you think that the high quality facilities is having a negative impact on our players or do you think that this thought is rubbish? On this basis Manchester City should be diabolically awful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reivax_Villa Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 (edited) 2 minutes ago, sidcow said: On this basis Manchester City should be diabolically awful. Well I did think this however Man City sign world class players that have trained at similar facilities to City before joining. Edited February 17, 2019 by Reivax_Villa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smg Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 Sorry rubbish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thabucks Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 I see a planning application has been submitted to extend the gym and sports science facilities @ BMH http://planning.northwarks.gov.uk/portal/servlets/ApplicationSearchServlet?PKID=116876 & https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-expansion-plans-highlight-16213609 Quote Aston Villa are planning an overhaul of the club's training facilities to cope with the 'ever-growing needs of their squad'. The club have applied to North Warwickshire Borough Council to ask for planning permission for an extension to the gymnasium facilities and sports science area of Bodymoor Heath. Does anyone know if the plans previously posted to include a mini stadium at BMH are still on the table ... well more a make shift stand than stadium ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 On 02/05/2019 at 13:58, thabucks said: well more a make shift stand than stadium ... You mean like St. Andrews? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mykeyb Posted May 5, 2019 Share Posted May 5, 2019 I read somewhere the other day that they plan to have the under 21s game at BMH so a stand would make sense... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadster23 Posted May 22, 2019 Visiting Supporter Share Posted May 22, 2019 On 02/05/2019 at 13:58, thabucks said: I see a planning application has been submitted to extend the gym and sports science facilities @ BMH http://planning.northwarks.gov.uk/portal/servlets/ApplicationSearchServlet?PKID=116876 & https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-expansion-plans-highlight-16213609 Does anyone know if the plans previously posted to include a mini stadium at BMH are still on the table ... well more a make shift stand than stadium ... Plans passed Funny that the conditions state work must be started within three years. - They started about six weeks ago! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alreadyexists Posted May 23, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted May 23, 2019 20 hours ago, Dadster23 said: Plans passed Funny that the conditions state work must be started within three years. - They started about six weeks ago! Being a Planner/Urban Designer, the three year time limit to begin work is a standard condition on (pretty much) all applications. Anything they did before hand was likely to be site preparation which wouldn’t count as ‘development’ as such. There are likely to be other conditions too, if I get a chance I’ll have a look at them... I’m such a sad git! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadster23 Posted May 23, 2019 Visiting Supporter Share Posted May 23, 2019 40 minutes ago, alreadyexists said: Being a Planner/Urban Designer, the three year time limit to begin work is a standard condition on (pretty much) all applications. Anything they did before hand was likely to be site preparation which wouldn’t count as ‘development’ as such. There are likely to be other conditions too, if I get a chance I’ll have a look at them... I’m such a sad git! Sure, the three year thing is standard. Just made laugh as the “site preparation” has been going on in earnest for some time. Guessing they want to get this done as soon as possible ready for pre season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alreadyexists Posted May 23, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted May 23, 2019 53 minutes ago, Dadster23 said: Sure, the three year thing is standard. Just made laugh as the “site preparation” has been going on in earnest for some time. Guessing they want to get this done as soon as possible ready for pre season. Probably! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post OutByEaster? Posted November 29, 2019 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted November 29, 2019 Went to the U23 game this evening and I've got to say I like the new facility - there's a grandstand, a two storey building for dressing rooms and erm stuff for the U23's, a floodlit pitch, all the right technical stuff they need and even a kiosk; wi' cheps. New Bodymoor Heath feels enormous - the drive from the main road to the academy gates gives a real impression of the size of the place - it's huge! Anyway - that's badly described - have some photos instead: 9 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam-AVFC Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 Just been looking at the plans for the extension and I see they’ve finally added a sandpit in the new gym area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wezbid Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 13 minutes ago, Sam-AVFC said: Just been looking at the plans for the extension and I see they’ve finally added a sandpit in the new gym area. Yes, Mings and Grealish were playing in it earlier. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam-AVFC Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 1 minute ago, Wezbid said: Yes, Mings and Grealish were playing in it earlier. I hadn’t realised they’d chucked up a paddling pool too but I guess that didn’t need to be in the planning application. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Farlz Posted February 5, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted February 5, 2020 Quote Gigantic diggers, hoardings, work vans and constant construction noise continues to fill the air around Aston Villa's Bodymoor Heath training ground. The impressive North Warwickshire complex at the rear of The Belfry is currently undergoing a major face-lift, with plans afoot to build a spanking-new "high performance centre" for Dean Smith's first-team stars ready for the start of pre-season in late June. Villa's owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, continue to pump millions into the club's training HQ, with the pair seeing Bodymoor as the bedrock to a sustained - and incredibly successful - future. Chief executive Christian Purslow, who runs the club on a day-to-day basis on behalf of Sawiris and Edens, said in a Villa TV interview it's an all-hands-to-the-pump effort to "make this club great again". Back to work at Bodymoor and Villa's impressive academy complex is complete. The hub for Villa's youth sides has had to be moved due to part of the £100bn HS2 slicing through the club's former Bodymoor Heath entrance between Bodymoor Heath Road and the A4091. It means where supporters used to park and where the youth pitches and Astroturf used to be will be completely wiped out by HS2, hence Villa moving its main entrance more towards Middleton Lakes. Villa's new academy base is situated a short drive past the main, first-team entrance. It features a new 500-seater stand and match pitch, a cash-less bar for supporters and a building for players, staff and family members complete with gated, on-site parking. "A huge amount of work has been ongoing at Bodymoor," explained Purslow. "I think most of our fans know because of the HS2 project we were essentially forced to rebuild large chunks of our academy operation. That work is complete. Our facility is one of the largest in Europe. It's open, it's working. We're hosting under-23 and youth games now here at Bodymoor in our wonderful new facility." Elsewhere, though, and more pressingly, Villa's main Bodymoor Heath building is having a giant new extension being built. A state-of-the-art gym is being constructed which will be one of the biggest in the Premier League. Villa's current gym is pretty small, with the likes of Dean Smith, John Terry and Villa's performance team said to have been inspired by their summer visit to the Minnesota Vikings' NFL training facility. Smith and Villa place a lot of emphasis on physical development. Club captain Jack Grealish is a monster of an athlete now, while those not deemed up to the required fitness levels - the likes of Jonathan Kodjia - will or have been let go. Purslow added: "I'm also very pleased to report that our first-team HQ is being upgraded hugely with the building of a new performance centre. It increases the workspace for the physical preparation by our athletes by a factor of eight. It's an absolutely enormous project that broke ground about six weeks ago. We are planning for that to be up and running for our summer pre-season." In essence, Smith, Purslow, Edens and Sawiris are building a new Villa beast, starting from the ground up while attempting to maximise player potential right from the academy, through to the women's team and first-team. The demands of the Premier League require footballers to be fitter and stronger than ever before and Villa are starting to bulk up to tackle that head-on. The average age of Villa's squad is just 25 - that's despite recently signing 37-year-old Pepe Reina and 29-year-old Danny Drinkwater. Villa's main business, of course, was done in the summer where they forked out £130m on 12 young additions on averagely-paid contracts including Douglas Luiz (21), Ezri Konsa (21), Wesley (22) and Matt Targett (23). When questioned, Smith relentlessly banged the "signing players with potential" drum and you can start to see why given what's currently ongoing behind the scenes. The boss works alongside Villa's performance staff which is headed up by director Jeremy Oliver. Smith's big on running stats, too, and Villa's new high-performance centre will help upgrade from within. The mantra is this: each of Villa's recent signings should become at least twice the player they were when they first arrived. Take Tyrone Mings, for example, his value has rocketed. What are John McGinn and Jack Grealish worth now, for example? The pair cost Villa a combined £2.75m. Chief exec Purslow, meanwhile, outlined Villa's "strategic plan for the very long term", and said: "When I think about everything I've described; Villa Park, Bodymoor Heath; a quite phenomenal investment in a new first team after so many players left last summer; building a women's operation; getting behind Mark Harrison to build an outstanding academy. The common denominator is a clear strategic plan for the very long term that is financed by and supported by our owners. "I know something about ownership in football. I'm lucky enough to have been in the game a long time and have worked with a lot of owners. I really hope, honestly, that the fans understand when I say to them that Dean, myself and all the staff know that we are backed in all we're doing to try and make this club great again across all aspects of what we do. "We're so lucky and I could not be more sure that the arrival of Nassef and Wes was one of the most important moments in this club's history because of everything we're now being able to do that would not be possible without shareholders' support." https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-bodymoor-heath-purslow-17692356 Definitely feels as if everything is pushing in the right direction behind the scenes. 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 4 hours ago, Farlz said: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-bodymoor-heath-purslow-17692356 Definitely feels as if everything is pushing in the right direction behind the scenes. It’s a nice piece. Although the bit about the value of Jack and McGinn against their combined cost made me laugh as, you’d always hope even without the infrastructure one player who came through the youth and one signed cheaply from Scotland their value having played regularly in the premier would increase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 5 hours ago, Farlz said: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-bodymoor-heath-purslow-17692356 Definitely feels as if everything is pushing in the right direction behind the scenes. Yes and I don’t think we can underestimate the importance of this. Let’s face it, none of us really know if we’ll stay up this season, but the fact that we’re making these infrastructure investments regardless, shows the ambition of our owners and indicates that they have a long term view of our future. Of course if we are relegated that will slow our progress. However I get the impression it won’t be viewed by the board as a disaster but merely a blip in the long term vision to make us a big, modern and ultimately successful football club. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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