Amanda Staveley admits the “awful” reality of the training site as the owner of Newcastle makes signings

According to Amanda Staveley, Newcastle United’s “awful” training facility would need to be “drastically improved” before the team could have drawn in “elite” signings.

 

Newcastle upgraded the men’s facility at Benton for about £10 million. Players now have access to a better, double-sized canteen, enhanced gym, hydrotherapy and plunge pools, a modern 30-seat presentation room, a new lounge, an expanded physio room, and a larger dressing room, among many other amenities. The “transformed” facility now “matches our ambitions,” according to Eddie Howe.

 

The owners, though, have never hidden their long-term goal to construct a brand-new, cutting-edge training facility. While Dan Ashworth emphasized that the club’s present infrastructure improvement has been “our main area of focus,” the departing sporting director hinted in November that Newcastle would “look” at the possibility of acquiring some land that would enable the Magpies to “move to the next level from a training environment.”

 

Although ‘everything is up for debate,’ Newcastle’s owners had previously scouted locations with the notion of creating an all-encompassing structure that would unite the men’s team, the women’s team, and the academy together.

 

Staveley told the Athletic, “I think when we took over, we all assumed the right solution would be to put everyone together.” But I’ve discovered that the best individuals should be brought in, and I should assist them in determining what’s required. Whether that means having separate training grounds or the best possible environment and facilities under one roof, our goal is to give both teams what they need.

 

“The men’s team now has an excellent training facility, which was necessary because without significant improvement, we wouldn’t have been able to draw professional athletes to Newcastle. When we took over, that was one of my biggest pet peeves. It was terrible.

 

Although the men’s training ground is excellent to have now, things take time to grow and there isn’t any more space there. We’re observing many of our teammates on various teams in an attempt to determine what kind of environment will yield the best results.”