£50m Training Ground Merge With Academy

EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool set to transform Kirkby Academy into £50million first-team training complex
Reds to move away from Melwood as owners back Klopp's vision

Liverpool are set to transform the Kirkby Academy into a state-of-the-art training complex for both the first team and youth set-ups.

The ambitious £50million project will see the Reds move away from their historic home of Melwood, which has been the club’s training base since the 1950s.

Boss Jürgen Klopp has been the driving force behind the decision to amalgamate the club’s two training facilities and owners Fenway Sports Group have committed the funds to make his dream a reality.

The ECHO understands that Liverpool have reached an agreement with Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council over the scope of work and funding. Heads of terms will be finalised once a public consultation period is completed.


Liverpool FC plans to relocate its first team training facilities from its historical home at Melwood to playing fields north of its current academy site on land between Simonswood Lane and Moss Lane. Photo by James Maloney

Liverpool intend to purchase 14 acres of land at Simonswood Playing Fields at the rear of the Academy in order to expand the size of the current site in Kirkby to around 60 acres. The plans have been drawn up by London-based architects KSS, who designed Anfield’s new Main Stand.

As part of the scheme Liverpool will upgrade the remaining community football pitches nearby and build new changing facilities and a car park. The surrounding area will also get a facelift with new walking and cycling paths created.

Local residents in Kirkby and Melwood will soon receive letters advising them of the club’s proposals.


Liverpool FC are set to purchase 14 acres of Simonswood playing fields in Kirkby. Graphic showing the proposed area and its proximity to the current Academy

A planning application will be submitted to Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council within the next few months and if it gets the green light then the redevelopment of Kirkby will start in early 2018.

Work would be completed by the summer of 2019 with Liverpool’s first-team squad making the switch to Kirkby for pre-season training ahead of the 2019/20 season.

The Reds’ move would be accompanied by the sale of Melwood in West Derby, which is a prime site to help address the shortage of high quality family homes in the area. Everton did the same with Bellefield when they left for their new training facility at Finch Farm in 2007.

The existing Academy buildings at Kirkby are set to remain and be refurbished with the first-team training centre built nearby. The facilities will include a new covered artificial pitch, a pool and hydrotherapy complex, gymnasium and specialist sports rehabilitation suites.


The front entrance to Liverpool FC's Melwood training Complex

Architects KSS specialise in major sports venues and training facilities. As well as Anfield’s Main Stand, they worked on London’s Olympic Stadium, Stamford Bridge, Twickenham, the No 1 Court at Wimbledon and Tottenham’s new stadium.

Significantly, they also designed Spurs’ 77-acre Bulls Cross training complex in Enfield which opened in 2012 and is home to both their first team and Academy.

Melwood’s detachment from the Academy - they are separated by five miles - has been a source of frustration for Klopp since his appointment as Reds boss in October 2015. He wants everyone - from the under-nines through to the first-team - together at one training complex.

Expanding Melwood simply wasn’t feasible due to a lack of space. Liverpool considered other possible sites but redeveloping Kirkby emerged as the preferred option.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-kirkby-melwood-merge-klopp-12635966

I have heard one consistent theme when it comes to Kirby





So I guess this part:

The facilities will include a new covered artificial pitch

is a good thing.

This makes a lot of sense to me

Hadn't realised we had only been at Melwood since the 50's

sad for that piece of history to go - but long term, makes perfect sense

We're finally acting like a big club...at least so far as off field goes. Now if they'd only invest in the first team squad.

Long overdue but welcome news

Summer transfer budget down by £50 million

A very good move this merger... Continuity & all that..

Summer transfer budget down by £50 million

A very good move this merger... Continuity & all that..

So no Reus then?

Damn owners only investing 50 million! Tight bas**rds them! Don't care about the club obviously! Only looking for a quick profit. Insert other anti-FSG nonsense here.

Good news credit where it's due to owners

Damn owners only investing 50 million! Tight bas**rds them! Don't care about the club obviously! Only looking for a quick profit. Insert other anti-FSG nonsense here.

Yeah I'm quite interested to see how this will be spun to be anti FSG, because I bet someone will try.

What they didn't say was that £5M of the £50M is for the extra socks budget.

Good news.

Quite a sum of money for some playing fields, a new training complex and a pitch or two.

Just hope we have a 2019/2020 squad to match, as well as a trophy or two to add to the cabinet.

"It is with great sadness and reluctance to announce that we are investing in the club".

FSG statement. 

Always a good investment, bricks and mortar.

How about spending a few more bob on players so we can win something before I F***ing kick the bucket.

A positive step in the growth of the club. Hopefully we'll start to see more of the kids make it to the first team as a result.

"It is with great sadness and reluctance to announce that we are investing in the club".

FSG statement. 

That's until we have a naming rights partner, sell out the canteen to mcdonalds have a subway on one corner, a dunkin doughnuts on the other and let's not forget that they're only really buying land which is of course an excellent asset anyway. Who knows they may even sell Melwood for a tidy sum....

Not that I'm cynical about all this or anything close

To be fair it is something that Jürgen has asked for and it's something he's getting so in that case I'm delighted. Having the young lads able to interchange at a moment notice and set up teams / compare players in different situations rather than having to plan ahead and all the logistical silliness that comes with having one set of young lads with the first team and another that's not really shouldn't have to happen. If it's good for the elite group then it's good for them all and improving the whole quality at once is surely only going to push and develop all the young lads better and for Jürgen to be able to watch them all at the same time just makes sense.

Will it eventually actually be £50m invested from FSG, no. Will it come from within the club by sale of Melwood and corporate sponsorship, I'd guess more likely.

Imperative that a 'one club mentality' is realised so this is great news. So important that the youth players and the senior players are all worked on under one roof. The prospects of bringing through young local talent to the first team once more will become even greater because of this.

Great news.

Damn owners only investing 50 million! Tight bas**rds them! Don't care about the club obviously! Only looking for a quick profit. Insert other anti-FSG nonsense here.

Unnecessary mate! But do you really think FSG are investing their own money? This is a positive step, but lets just wait until we see how its bring funded before we start sucking then off.

Unnecessary mate! But do you really think FSG are investing their own money? This is a positive step, but lets just wait until we see how its bring funded before we start sucking then off.

Why would they invest their own money when they can leverage the club? I mean honestly, I'm not raining praise on them, but they don't really operate any different than any other owner of any large entity. I mean if we were publicly held like Microsoft, or Nike or the Scum....there would be no "owners" to invest their own money, the club would have to pay it's own way. Sounds like Klopp's been backed so seems to be a good thing, as long as this money doesn't get subtracted from the summer transfer budget.

Why would they invest their own money when they can leverage the club? I mean honestly, I'm not raining praise on them, but they don't really operate any different than any other owner of any large entity. I mean if we were publicly held like Microsoft, or Nike or the Scum....there would be no "owners" to invest their own money, the club would have to pay it's own way. Sounds like Klopp's been backed so seems to be a good thing, as long as this money doesn't get subtracted from the summer transfer budget.

Well don't worry, we still have the previous summer's money available then 😀 We can always sell Coutinho if we're stuck.
I'm not a property value expert, but I expect they'll make some of that back from the sale of Melwood.

Unnecessary mate! But do you really think FSG are investing their own money? This is a positive step, but lets just wait until we see how its bring funded before we start sucking then off.

Unnecessary is bashing the F**k out of them for doing something positive. They get slagged off to the high heavens constantly, they deserve some praise once in a while.

Unnecessary is bashing the F**k out of them for doing something positive. They get slagged off to the high heavens constantly, they deserve some praise once in a while.

No one is basing the F**k out of them for this. Important to know all the facts first, they'll get praise if and when they deserve it, if this is one of those times then great.