Gloucester Rugby unveils new training centre near Kingsholm

Plans for new training facilities at Gloucester Rugby have been unveiled, allowing the club to host even more matches at Kingsholm and open the doors to more women’s and academy fixtures at the stadium.

By Andrew Merrell | Published Tuesday 15 June 2021

An artists impression of the new facilities next door to Kingsholm Stadium, which will open the venue up to regular womens rugby matches. Images courtesy of www.shove-media.com. — An artist’s impression of the new facilities next door to Kingsholm Stadium, which will open the venue up to regular women’s rugby matches. Images courtesy of www.shove-media.com.

A view from the St Catherine Street entrance with the former SLG warehouse and offices on the right and Kingsholm stadium ahead.

Kingsholm, soon to welcome the addition of new training facilities at the former SLG warehouse St Catherine Street adjacent to the stadium.

Gloucester Rugby is moving its training facilities to Gloucester with a multi-million-pound new facility, which will also allow women’s rugby to become a more regular fixture at the famous Kingsholm stadium.

The new training facility will be right next door to Kingsholm Stadium, in what was previously SLG Beauty’s warehouse.

Gloucester Rugby plans to transform the property into ‘an elite high-performance training centre’ with work due to begin any day, with the new facilities ready to use in July 2021.

Cheltenham firm BPE Solicitors worked with the club advising it on the move onto the Kingsholm Business Park.

The centre will include a 470 square metre gym, supplied by new partner Sportesse; six Olympic lifting platforms; a rehabilitation centre; a dedicated recovery gym; as well as an indoor high performance training pitch.

Nick Osmond, is a director of Sportesse, the firm brought in to work with Gloucester Rugby on the new training centre. It also works with England Rugby, the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) and the NFL, no less.

‘This will give Gloucester one of the very best facilities there is. It will allow the club to take training to a whole new level,’ said Mr Osmond.

A synthetic pitch will also be laid at Kingsholm stadium. All of which brings to an end speculation over its future training ground which began when the club announced in 2019 its long-running and hugely successful arrangements with Hartpury College and University as its preferred training venue would come to an end this year.

George Skivington, Gloucester Rugby head coach, said: ‘This state-of-the-art facility will fortify Kingsholm as a centre of excellence and double down on our commitment to developing home grown talent.

‘We’re also excited about the investment in the synthetic pitch at Kingsholm, which will provide a consistent playing surface in all conditions.

‘It also means that we can host multiple matches in one weekend, allowing us to welcome more academy and women’s matches.’

Supplied by Bristol-based sports surface construction company, Verde Recreo, the new pitch has the full approval of Premiership Rugby and World Rugby.

Lewis Ludlow, captain of Gloucester Rugby, said: ‘We are very excited. The new pitch means we can go out on the field knowing what surface to expect, allowing us to focus on the game in hand.’

The warehouse conversion will also include office space, as well as an extended hospitality area designed to enhance the match-day experience for fans and allow the club to hold more events and accommodate larger audiences.

Gloucester Rugby chief executive, Lance Bradley, said: ‘The development reinforces our commitment to Gloucester and is just the beginning of exciting strides forward for Gloucester Rugby unifying the playing and commercial function in the coming years.

‘We’ll be inviting all club members who have donated to the club to an exclusive launch event later in the year, as well as thanking them by displaying their name on a wall within the facility.’

By Andrew Merrell

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BPE Solicitors