Lennoxtown training ground
Encyclopedia
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
's training centre, located at Lennoxtown
Lennoxtown
Lennoxtown is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland at the foot of the Campsie Fells, which are just to the north.It is now part of the East Dunbartonshire council area but prior to 1975 was in the county of Stirling....
, East Dunbartonshire
East Dunbartonshire
This article is about the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. See also East Dunbartonshire .East Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders onto the north-west of the City of Glasgow. It contains many of the suburbs of Glasgow as well as containing many of...
in Scotland. The complex houses the club's training
Training ground
A training ground is an area where professional association football teams prepare for matches, with activities primarily concentrating on skills and fitness...
and educational facilities.
Background
The complex is built on former NHSNational Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
land adjacent to the vacated Lennox Castle Hospital and was designed to replace Celtic's former training ground at Barrowfield
Barrowfield
Barrowfield is an area of east Glasgow in Camlachie, close to Celtic Park, home of Celtic Football Club.It is an area of working class housing enclosed by main roads and railway lines, which consequently developed a distinctive character...
. It is located on a 46 acres (186,155.6 m²) site near the Campsie Fells
Campsie Fells
The Campsie Fells are a range of hills in central Scotland, stretching east to west, from Denny Muir to Dumgoyne, in Stirlingshire. . The highest point in the range is Earl's Seat which is 578 m high...
, half of the site has been developed in Phase One of the project to provide the existing training facilities with the remaining land being left for development in Phase Two which will provide conference facilities and live-in dormitory areas for young players. The centre houses Celtic’s entire professional footballing operation and will host the home games for Celtic's ladies team.
For many years the training facilities which Celtic provided were seen as substandard and would be hidden from potential new signings. This fact was emphasised after their rivals Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
opened their Murray Park
Murray Park
Murray Park is the training ground of association football team Rangers F.C. Located in Auchenhowie, Milngavie, on the outskirts of Glasgow.- History :...
complex in 2001 and Hearts opened their Riccarton
Riccarton, Edinburgh
Riccarton is an area in Edinburgh's Green Belt, in Scotland. It is mainly undeveloped, with much farmland and few houses.Riccarton is to the west of the Edinburgh City Bypass , and is known for being the location of Heriot-Watt University's main campus, as well as the Heart of Midlothian F.C...
academy with Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University is a university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The name commemorates George Heriot, the 16th century financier to King James, and James Watt, the great 18th century inventor and engineer....
in 2004. A number of club officials and players expressed sadness at leaving Barrowfield but saw it as a necessity for the modern game and that it would aid in helping Celtic attract players to the club.
Prior to its opening Celtic youth team coach Willie McStay
Willie McStay (footballer born 1961)
William John "Willie" McStay is a Scottish professional football player and manager.-Playing career:McStay played for Celtic from 1979 to 1987. McStay made his debut on 2 April 1983 when he came on as a sub in Celtic's 3-1 home win over Motherwell and went on to make 65 league appearances,...
stated "after years of shuttling back and forth between Barrowfield, Celtic Park
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
and several other temporary training venues, Lennoxtown will also allow the Youth Academy coaching staff to better utilise their time during the course of a season."
In 2005, Celtic launched a successful share issue which raised £15m, much of this money would be put towards providing new training facilities. Celtic coach Tommy Burns was tasked with undertaking a fact finding mission and travelled across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to visit other football clubs' training grounds. Celtic chose sections from Burns's report and this was added to by former Celtic bosses Martin O'Neill
Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE, is a Northern Irish football manager and former player.Until resigning the post on 9 August 2010, he was manager of Aston Villa. Starting his career in his native Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playing career with Nottingham...
and Gordon Strachan
Gordon Strachan
Gordon David Strachan OBE is a Scottish football manager and former player. He is currently without a club, having last managed Middlesbrough. Strachan played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. Prior to Middlesbrough,...
.
In December 2005, East Dunbartonshire Council
East Dunbartonshire
This article is about the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. See also East Dunbartonshire .East Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders onto the north-west of the City of Glasgow. It contains many of the suburbs of Glasgow as well as containing many of...
's Planning Board approved the outline planning application to develop the training facilities on the site. The following April, the council granted a detailed permission with the leader of East Dunbartonshire Council, John Morrison, stating "I'm sure that the residents of East Dunbartonshire are delighted at the prospect of this ambitious development in their area. The Celtic training facility will potentially contribute significantly to the development of Lennoxtown and will also bring wider employment and social benefits to the area.".
Official opening
The centre was officially opened on 9 October 2007 by Celtic chairman Brian QuinnBrian Quinn
Brian Quinn, CBE is a Scottish economist and former football club chairman. He is an honorary Professor of economics at Glasgow University. He is best known for his spell as the Chairman of the Celtic Plc board.-Early life:...
at a ceremony where he was joined by Chief executive Peter Lawwell
Peter Lawwell
Peter Lawwell is the chief executive of the Scottish Premier League football club Celtic F.C.Lawwell started his career as a trainee accountant with Babcock Energy in the 1970s. After a career working as an executive for a number of companies, including ICI and Hoffman-LaRoche, Lawwell joined...
, then Celtic manager Gordon Strachan
Gordon Strachan
Gordon David Strachan OBE is a Scottish football manager and former player. He is currently without a club, having last managed Middlesbrough. Strachan played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. Prior to Middlesbrough,...
and then Celtic captain Stephen McManus
Stephen McManus
Stephen McManus is a Scottish footballer who currently plays as a centre back for Middlesbrough. McManus was club captain of Celtic from 2007 until his move to Middlesbrough....
.
Chairman Brian Quinn added "When people come and see the facilities they'll see what I think we are, which is a major European club".
At the opening of the centre Peter Lawwell stated that Celtic "now have a foundation and infrastructure that should take us forward." and that Celtic can "now demonstrate a world-class training centre on top of a world-class stadium, for what I believe is a world-class club. It’s fitting for a club of this stature".
Facilities
£8 million was spent on the construction. Indoor facilities include an indoor training hall, a fitness centre with gym and fitness suite, physio and medical facilities, sauna and steam room and hydrotherapy pool, Sports science/sports development facility, changing facilities, classroom/education facilities, football administration offices, media facilities, kit room, laundry and Groundsman’s compound.Outdoor facilities include three full-sized UEFA standard natural grass training and match pitches, with undersoil heating to the main pitch, an artificial grass pitch and an additional goalkeeping training area.