Thorp Arch (training ground)
Encyclopedia
Thorp Arch is the training ground
and Academy base of English
football club, Leeds United
. Located in the village of Thorp Arch
, near to the town of Wetherby
, the site covers 12.1 hectare
s. The facility consists of three sections, The Barn, The Grange and the training pitches. Presently, none of the sections are owned by Leeds United, but the Barn and the training pitches are lease
d to the club. The club are currently in talks with Leeds City Council
regarding a re-purchase of the facility. Leeds' under 18s and under 16s sides currently play their home games on the pitches at Thorp Arch.
, who became manager of Leeds United in 1988 and realised that the club needed a modern, purpose-built training facility. At the time, the club trained on Fullerton Park, the area behind the West Stand at the club's stadium, Elland Road
. In the early nineties, the club started searching nearby land where the new training ground could be built. The club settled on Thorp Arch and quickly built several pitches. A section called The Grange was also built, providing changing rooms, offices and accommodation for the academy players.
In 2000, the club vacated The Grange in order to start work on a new £5 million state-of-the-art youth academy and training facility. The move saw the academy players move in with local families. The new academy was opened in 2002 and was named The Barn. It featured a number of new facilities including an indoor pitch, a swimming pool, a gym and new changing rooms.
However, the club soon encountered financial difficulties. In July 2004, The Grange was sold to Sterling Investment Properties Limited, a company owned by David Newett, a businessman from Wetherby
. As part of the deal, the club were obliged to support any planning application made by Sterling for The Grange over a period of fifty years. Six months later, The Barn and the training pitches were sold to Barnaway Limited, a company owned by Manchester
-based businessman, Jacob Adler for £4.2 million, with the option of a re-purchase before 10 October 2009 for £5,828,131. Barnaway leased the facility back to the club for twenty-five years, with the club due to pay annual rent of approximately £430,000, rising 3% each year.
In September 2009, club chairman Ken Bates
announced that the club were in talks with Leeds City Council
regarding the council re-purchasing the facility from Adler for and leasing it back to the club. The following month, it was announced that the club and the council had agreed terms regarding the lease with the option for the club to obtain the freehold of the facility after fourteen years when all council debt has been repaid or earlier by negotiation. The deal would also see the club make Thorp Arch available for training during for during the 2012 Summer Olympics
, the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, the 2015 Rugby World Cup
and for the FIFA World Cup
should it come to England in 2018.
The site has eight full-size grass pitches and two all-weather pitches. Several of the pitches are floodlit.
The Barn, which replaced The Grange in 2002, contains a reception, a café, offices and changing rooms. It also houses the following top-class facilities:
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 Academy base of English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
football club, Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
. Located in the village of Thorp Arch
Thorp Arch (village)
Thorp Arch is a small village and civil parish near Wetherby, West Yorkshire, England. The village comes under the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. The village is set on the River Wharfe, has a primary school and public house. The village is in the LS23 Wetherby postcode area and has a Wetherby...
, near to the town of Wetherby
Wetherby
Wetherby is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Wharfe, and has been for centuries a crossing place and staging post on the Great North Road, being mid-way between London and Edinburgh...
, the site covers 12.1 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s. The facility consists of three sections, The Barn, The Grange and the training pitches. Presently, none of the sections are owned by Leeds United, but the Barn and the training pitches are lease
Lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
d to the club. The club are currently in talks with Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority for the City of Leeds metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England.-History:The city council was established in 1974, with the first elections being held in advance in 1973...
regarding a re-purchase of the facility. Leeds' under 18s and under 16s sides currently play their home games on the pitches at Thorp Arch.
History
Thorp Arch was the brainchild of Howard WilkinsonHoward Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson is a former English football player and manager, and has recently stepped down as a Non-Executive Director at Sheffield Wednesday after formerly relinquishing the chairman role to Milan Mandaric...
, who became manager of Leeds United in 1988 and realised that the club needed a modern, purpose-built training facility. At the time, the club trained on Fullerton Park, the area behind the West Stand at the club's stadium, Elland Road
Elland Road
Elland Road is an all-seater football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has been the permanent residence of Leeds United A.F.C...
. In the early nineties, the club started searching nearby land where the new training ground could be built. The club settled on Thorp Arch and quickly built several pitches. A section called The Grange was also built, providing changing rooms, offices and accommodation for the academy players.
In 2000, the club vacated The Grange in order to start work on a new £5 million state-of-the-art youth academy and training facility. The move saw the academy players move in with local families. The new academy was opened in 2002 and was named The Barn. It featured a number of new facilities including an indoor pitch, a swimming pool, a gym and new changing rooms.
However, the club soon encountered financial difficulties. In July 2004, The Grange was sold to Sterling Investment Properties Limited, a company owned by David Newett, a businessman from Wetherby
Wetherby
Wetherby is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Wharfe, and has been for centuries a crossing place and staging post on the Great North Road, being mid-way between London and Edinburgh...
. As part of the deal, the club were obliged to support any planning application made by Sterling for The Grange over a period of fifty years. Six months later, The Barn and the training pitches were sold to Barnaway Limited, a company owned by Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
-based businessman, Jacob Adler for £4.2 million, with the option of a re-purchase before 10 October 2009 for £5,828,131. Barnaway leased the facility back to the club for twenty-five years, with the club due to pay annual rent of approximately £430,000, rising 3% each year.
In September 2009, club chairman Ken Bates
Ken Bates
Kenneth William Bates is a British businessman and football executive. The current chairman and now owner of Leeds United AFC, Bates was previously chairman and majority shareholder of Chelsea FC from 1982 until 2003....
announced that the club were in talks with Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority for the City of Leeds metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England.-History:The city council was established in 1974, with the first elections being held in advance in 1973...
regarding the council re-purchasing the facility from Adler for and leasing it back to the club. The following month, it was announced that the club and the council had agreed terms regarding the lease with the option for the club to obtain the freehold of the facility after fourteen years when all council debt has been repaid or earlier by negotiation. The deal would also see the club make Thorp Arch available for training during for during the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
, the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, the 2015 Rugby World Cup
2015 Rugby World Cup
The 2015 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament is scheduled to be hosted by England from 4 September to 17 October 2015. In addition, Cardiff's 74,500-seater Millennium Stadium in Wales will also be used...
and for the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
should it come to England in 2018.
Facilities
The Grange, which was only operational by the club from its opening in the early nineties until the turn of the Millennium, accommodated the academy players, offices and changing rooms.The site has eight full-size grass pitches and two all-weather pitches. Several of the pitches are floodlit.
The Barn, which replaced The Grange in 2002, contains a reception, a café, offices and changing rooms. It also houses the following top-class facilities:
- Indoor pitch: this is primarily used by the academy players. The pitch features artificial turfArtificial turfArtificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...
and is heated. - Physiotherapy rooms: there are two physio rooms, one for the first team and one for the academy.
- Bio science room: this room is used for player medicals, science testing, preventative screens and academy musclar evaluations.
- Rehabilitation room: in this room, assessment work and activities such as basketball take place to help players who are recovering from an injury. The room features a sprung floor for jumping work.
- Gym: the gymGymThe word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
is used for general player fitness as well as rehabilitation. - Wet area: the wet area features a massage jacuzziJacuzziJacuzzi is a company that produces whirlpool bathtubs and spas. Its first product was a bath with massaging jets. The term "jacuzzi" is now often used generically to refer to any bathtub with massaging jets.-History:...
, a hydrotherapyHydrotherapyHydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy, involves the use of water for pain-relief and treating illness. The term hydrotherapy itself is synonymous with the term water cure as it was originally marketed by practitioners and promoters in the 19th century...
pool and swimming pool which is used for rehabilitation and recuperation.