Stoke unveil training ground plan

The club says the development would benefit the first team and academy

Stoke City have announced plans for a �5m redevelopment of their training ground ready for the 2010/11 season.

The Potters have submitted a proposal for the development at the Michelin Sports Ground in Trent Vale to Newcastle-under-Lyme council.

The new facility would include a 1,800 sq metre building with changing rooms and medical facilities, and two pitches for the first team and academy.

The club would purchase the site should the development get the go-ahead.

Work would start in the summer, with the long-term plans also including a floodlit pitch and an outdoor all-weather playing surface.

Stoke chairman Peter Coates said: "We have always wanted to develop a high-quality training facility which would be owned by the club and which would serve both the first team players and the academy.

"We are now able to do that. We have an agreement to purchase the land, subject to a successful planning application.

"This will be of long-term benefit to the club. It will enable us to compete and attract the best players and that applies equally to the young academy players."

The facility has been designed by architects AFL who were behind Chelsea's Cobham training ground and Everton's Finch Farm complex.