Fulham Football Club required a more modern, functional state-of-the-art building to replace its ageing air dome at the Motspur Park training ground in New Malden, Surrey. To maintain the club’s Academy EPPP Category One status, the building had to be completed and ready for the grand opening ceremony in November 2016.
The new building had to be flexible in order to provide an elite training environment for first team football and the academy players, but also to be a pleasant space which was accessible enough to allow the Club’s Foundation Charity to use the building as part of its diverse community programme.
Working closely to the club’s specification, Dove Construction’s specialist division Spatial Structures designed and built a single span, steel framed, fabric membrane building to cover a 60m x 80m FIFA- specified, synthetic 3G pitch. Dove Construction provided an aesthetically pleasing building, which complied with the many planning constraints to give a vast, naturally illuminated, open space that the club and the community can use all year round, whatever the weather. The project was completed in 20 weeks.
The building was officially opened on 26 November 2016 with the club’s U21 team taking part in a public training session. The project has provided Fulham Football Club with a first class training facility, which is fully accessible to the Academy and the club’s Foundation Programmes. This further cements the club in the centre of the Fulham community at present and into the future.
Huw Jennings, Academy Director, said: “Maintaining our Category One Status has an immeasurable impact on the Fulham Academy and one that is vital to our future success. We boast many impressive accomplishments with player development at the Club over the seasons which would not have been possible without both financial support, but also the belief in our methods and values as an Academy, and these facilities and our Category One status are integral to ensuring we continue to progress.”
