Football's coming home

Eleven years after The FA purchased a 330-acre site in the National Forest, its new National Football Centre has opened its doors to the elite of English football. Project director Mark Smith tells Andrew Hubbard how it all came together.

As I sit in the Hilton Hotel reception at the heart of St Georges Park, I stare into an empty trophy cabinet dreaming of a day that England has a team capable of filling it with silverware the likes of which havent been seen since 1966.

I was at The FAs new National Football Centre in Burton-Upon-Trent just before its soft opening in August, to meet Turner & Townsend project director Mark Smith. Now fully open to the elite of the English national game, it will play host to all 24 England teams as well as provide a new home for FA Learning, The FAs educational department, and the League Managers Association (LMA).

Originally purchased in 2001, the Staffordshire site was selected for its position in the geographical centre of the country. At the time of purchase The FA technical director Howard Wilkinson said it would deliver the Oxford University of coach education. It was to be a project that not only helped to nurture talent among players, but also provide a base where generations of future English coaches and managers would be developed.

So why the 11 year wait? The construction of Wembley Stadium was prioritised and progress on the National Football Centre was halted, explains Mark Smith.

We were given the green light in January 2011 and completed the project 18 months later on 16 July.

With a budget of 80m, Mark and his team had much to deliver in the way of facilities. The scope demanded 12 full-size training pitches including a full-size indoor pitch and a grass replica of the Wembley surface an indoor futsal sports hall, plus multiple gymnasiums, rehabilitation, medical and sports science areas.

Video analysis technology is required throughout so players and coaches can receive video feedback on conclusion of a practice. Two on-site hotels will house guests, including those from businesses and other sports who will be actively encouraged to use the site.

Space for The FA, LMA and the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) is also required.

Challenging though it may have been, both deadline and budget have been met and the finished product is breathtaking.

Man mangagement

For Sir Trevor Brooking, FA director of football development, the purpose of the Park is simple: to become the centre-point from which the future game, which outlines a playing and coaching philosophy for English football, is brought to life and communicated to the whole game.

In reality, this means creating a multipurpose facility that is capable of binding a variety of stakeholders, each with their own individual needs and goals.

There were an awful lot of stakeholders involved in this project, and that was probably the biggest challenge, explains Mark. Weve got Hilton as the hotel operator, Perform part of Spire Healthcare as the medical operator, FA Learning, Club England, groundsmen, players, coaches, the LMA, the PFA and football clubs all over the country.

All of these different parties are interested in their particular area, but not the entire picture. Managing all the stakeholders has been hard but we have worked very closely with The FA to control things.

Mark says that the team worked with stakeholders to capture their individual requirements, not just at the beginning of the project, but right the way through. He adds: In any project, change is an inevitability. What we did as a team was manage that change so we could deliver what was really important to the stakeholders. If we hadnt managed them, or all of the changes, as well as we did then we would have failed.

Something that Ive learnt from this that I would share with other project managers, is my experience from the stakeholders. The key thing is to listen.

Im not a football expert and I dont really know whats important to a footballer. Its very easy to dismiss something they think is important to them, when actually, they are critical. One of the lessons we all learnt is to listen to these people as theyre the ones who are going to benefit from it, and if it doesnt work for them, weve failed.

With the major stakeholders all under one roof it is hoped partnerships will be strengthened and developed.

Described as a potential nerve-centre, a hub of coach education and a think-tank for prospective coaches and managers, there has been much talk of creating a coaching culture at St Georges Park. The multi-million pound facilities provide the backdrop for triumph, but football is a results business and the success of this project may be some years away.

Detail in design

Getting the design right was key for St Georges Park. With such a stringent budget, there was simply no margin for error. As part of the design process, a number of major centres of excellence were investigated. Mark says: Research of similar centres around the world was inspiring, and crucial in ensuring that what we were delivering was the very best.

During the planning and design phase, the project team tracked footballers to create a number of day-in-the-life scenarios. We looked at where the players stayed, how they got to the training area. We also used the model to investigate how a disabled player and a hotel guest would use the facilities.

Expert knowledge from Stuart Pearce, Gareth Southgate, Sir Trevor Brooking, Club England and FA Learning has also empowered the team to capture the club and the player requirements.

The significance of emulation is recognised in the design of St Georges Park. Young players are able to rub shoulders with their heroes and see those at the top of the game playing and training on site. Coaches from both the professional and grassroots game will be invited to watch FA National coaches work too.

Through Perform, the sites health provider, St Georges Park boasts a range of state-of-the-art sports science facilities. Technology and equipment available includes joint testing, world-class hydrotherapy pools, an altitude chamber, an anti-gravity treadmill and heart and lung monitoring equipment.

As well being home to the England medical team, Performs services will be available to all. From elite professional athletes and football clubs to corporate groups to school teams everyone will be able to access the facility.

Away from sport, the hotel facilities have also undergone arduous planning. Separated into two sections, the Hilton Hotel caters for all of St Georges Parks potential visitors.

The Hilton itself has 142 Hilton rooms, with the chains budget-brand, Hampton by Hilton, boasting 86. Mark says: Hilton caters for all budgets which is important. Junior teams will stay in twin rooms in the Hampton while the senior teams stay in the Hilton.

The hotel isnt just for the teams though. The pubic, local businesses and local and national football clubs can benefit.

The hotel is designed to be as private or as open as it needs to be. If the players wish to have privacy there are design features which can transport them around the hotel without having to enter the public areas. Mark explains:

The idea of St Georges Park is to give the England set up an all for one and one for all feel, however, at times players and coaches will want to keep privacy and elements including private lifts and walkways help facilitate this.

A team game

Getting a high-quality return on the project budget of 80m was a real challenge for Mark and his team. We had some very good partners on the project which allowed us to ensure that the balance was right between quality and cost, says Mark.

The architects were very passionate about the whole design but were good at compromising as and when we needed to save money. They also stuck to their guns about things that were important to the integrity of the design.

What weve managed to do is utilise affordable materials by using them well. Theres no brick, but stone instead. Weve achieved a fantastic outcome using sustainable materials.

During the construction phase there were a number of challenges that had to be resolved before proceeding. Mark explains: The primary substation to get the power here is about 8km away, meaning that we had to bring a cable of 8km through one of the local villages with as little disruption as possible.

Local people and the parish council were not happy with the fact that a power line had to be dug underneath their village. Mark and his team had to work closely with suppliers and the local stakeholders to find a resolution. It was really important to The FA that we brought the community with us on this journey, not against us. We found a solution where we could work on 100m a week, reinstating the effected area as we went along. We spoke to the local stakeholders and agreed to work through the school summer holidays to complete 600m of the work so that school traffic wouldnt be affected. We remained flexible and they appreciated that.

Each individual challenge had to be dealt with on its own merit. We overcame all of them effectively through open communication, collaboration and teamwork. Without these we wouldnt have been able to deliver on time, and certainly wouldnt have been able to deliver on budget.

For Mark, the biggest success was how the team came together. He says: It was all about having the right team in place. Were all heading in the same direction and got swept away with St Georges park and delivering this as a project. But we had to consider collaboration.

We had two other project managers and two cost managers helping us to deliver to the highest possible standard and without breaking the budget. Hilton had a dedicated project manager on the job too, James Mycroft, who stood shoulder-to-shoulder throughout the entire project. If he hadnt been as proactive and helpful as he was, it wouldve been a harder journey, and he was as keen as the rest of us for this to work.

Restoring the faith

After the Wembley Stadium project, which famously ran over budget and opened years after the planned opening date, Mark hopes that St Georges Park will restore the peoples faith in The FAs ability to deliver successful projects.

Wembley was seen as a failed project, but the fact that we delivered this on time, on budget and have produced such an amazing facility should prove that they can do these kinds of projects.

It is a genuine legacy for English football, although we might not see the results for 15 years or so, I cant see how this cant change peoples view of The FA. Its a tremendously successful project for them, theyre immensely proud of it, and I think theyve got every right to be.

Similar to those working on the recent Olympic Park projects, Mark says that it is easy to find yourself getting swept away with that fact that youre building a legacy for English football. During construction you would see guys working wearing their England or club shirt on, because they were proud to be working on the project. That definitely had an effect on the success of St Georges Park. People were genuinely excited to be a part of history.

This project stands out for me. My career has involved working in London and I worked on Battersea Power Station for a few years, which was really interesting, but to be involved in this from start to finish has been a once-in-a-life-time opportunity, and Im immensely proud to have been part of it.

As I finish the tour I find myself back in the reception of the Hilton Hotel. I stare again into the empty trophy cabinet and begin to believe that the success of this project is just beginning. St Georges Park can help deliver the dream, and it wont be too long before the cabinet is bulging.

Biography

Mark Smith has been project director at Turner & Townsend for eight years, working on major projects including a roll-out programme with Nationwide Building Society and leading numerous prison renovations.

 

The next chapter: 

Stuart Pearce, manager of the England national Under-21 team

Having been involved with the development of St Georges Park, and as one of those set to benefit from its creation, how do you feel to finally see it open and ready for use?

"We have been waiting for this centre for more years than I care to remember and it is testament to those that have worked on the project that it is now attracting some fantastic comments. To see the centre come to life with community teams, referees on site, the England Under-17s and Under-21s is fantastic."

In numbers

80m the total budget of the project

228 the total number of rooms across the Hilton and Hampton by Hilton on site

120m x 80m the size of the indoor hall which accommodates a full-size

105m x 68m artificial football pitch, as well as a 60m indoor running track

60m x 40m the size of the multisport indoor sports hall at the Park. It boasts a sprung floor with capacity for futsal, badminton and netball, plus football pitches for the partially sighted

12 indoor and outdoor pitches are available on site, some include floodlighting and undersoil heating. One is an exact replica of the Wembley pitch.