Many of the past and present Aston Villa players have taken up residence in the area, one of the more rural parts of the Midlands, enabling them speedy travel to training sessions. The training ground houses both the first-team and the youth academy.
The facilities at Bodymoor Heath are also used as the home ground for the academy teams using provided pitches and changing rooms. The Under-23s previously played at Villa Park, although the construction of a 500-seater match complex in 2019 allowed for all of the academy teams to play within the training ground.[1]
Aston Villa signage at Bodymoor Heath, seen in 2009. Note the tennis courts, behind the goalpost.
The land used for Bodymoor Heath was purchased sometime during the 1970s from a local farmer by then-Chairman Doug Ellis, to replace the previous training facility in Trinity Road, Aston. However, by the late 1990s the facilities had started to look dated, prompting then-Villa manager John Gregory to criticise Ellis, stating that he believed he was "stuck in a time warp",[2] citing the Chairman's reluctance to invest further in the training ground as something of considerable concern.
Planning permission had been a significant problem for the club's intention to modernise the training facilities, and it wasn't until November 2005 that Aston Villa announced an £8million redevelopment of Bodymoor Heath. Before the team's 2005-06 Premier League performance, Ellis had revealed that the club had budgeted the plans for achieving 10th-12th place.[3] However, they finished 16th, and as a result the development came to halt, having already been scaled down from its original plans. Once Randy Lerner purchased the club in September 2006, the club announced that work on the redevelopment of Bodymoor Heath would continue but with revisions and upgrades of the original plans resulting in a total cost of redevelopment of £13million.[4] The new training ground, designed by HB Architects, was officially unveiled on 6 May 2007.
In March 2019, Aston Villa submitted plans to the local council to expand the gymnastics and sport science areas of the main Bodymoor Heath building,[5] as well as adding a larger match analysis room and increasing the area used for physical training eight-fold. It has been reported that the new 'performance centre' has been inspired by the facilities of the Minnesota Vikings NFL team during a pre-season tour.[6] This followed a complete redevelopment of the Academy training ground, which included construction of a 500-seater "mini-stadium". This allowed the Under-23's, who previously played their home games at Villa Park, to play at the training ground instead.[1] This was part of a complete relocation of the southern half of the training ground caused by land lost due to HS2. These developments were valued at over £20million overall.[7] The development continued throughout 2020 under the supervision of new CEO Christian Purslow, but were delayed by restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[8]
The construction of High Speed 2 has caused significant issues for Aston Villa, as the line will pass directly through the south-east corner of Bodymoor Heath. This has caused disruption for the first team and academy. In 2018, contractors O'Brien were appointed to oversee the relocation of significant parts of Bodymoor Heath, particularly the Academy, where the line would directly cut into, in order to compensate for the land lost. All the academy pitches and two first team pitches were moved. The overall cost of the Academy project cost £14million, which was solely funded by the £14.5million compensation received from the Government.[10]
Sponsorship
In April 2018, Aston Villa announced that Bodymoor Heath was to be renamed the "Recon Training Complex",[11] after a group owned by the club's sole owner at the time, Tony Xia. Although the sponsorship was initially stated to last for 5 years, the majority purchase of Aston Villa by a partnership consisting of Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens eventually saw the sponsorship deal scrapped after just 7 months, and the old Bodymoor Heath name restored.[12]
References
^ abPreece, Ashley (9 December 2019). "The new Aston Villa training ground complex giving fans their fix". birminghammail. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
^Preece, Ashley (5 February 2020). "Revealed: What Aston Villa are really building at Bodymoor Heath". birminghammail. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
^Percy, John (28 February 2020). "Aston Villa owners' grand vision remains undimmed despite threat of relegation". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
^Preece, Ashley (11 April 2020). "Explained: The grand Aston Villa plan to extend Bodymoor Heath". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
^"The Duke of Cambridge opens new High Performance Centre". Aston Villa F.C. Official Site. 4 May 2021. from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
^"Behind the scenes at Aston Villa - Amazing drone photos of spanking-new £14m Bodymoor Heath academy - Birmingham Live".
^"Aston Villa Football Club | the official club website".
^"Photo: Aston Villa's new owners take down Recon signs at Bodymoor Heath". 15 November 2018.
July 02, 2023
bodymoor, heath, training, ground, aston, villa, football, club, training, ground, located, bodymoor, heath, north, warwickshire, district, warwickshire, england, site, purchased, from, farmer, then, aston, villa, chairman, doug, ellis, early, 1970s, ground, s. Bodymoor Heath Training Ground is Aston Villa Football Club s training ground located at Bodymoor Heath in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire England The site was purchased from a farmer by then Aston Villa Chairman Doug Ellis in the early 1970s The ground is situated near Fazeley in the Tame Valley by the side of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal a short distance from Drayton Manor Theme Park and Middleton Hall It lies close to The Belfry Golf Club Middleton Lakes RSPB reserve and Kingsbury Water Park just a few hundred metres from the M42 link to Tamworth and Birmingham Bodymoor Heath Training GroundBodymoor HeathBodymoor Heath EntranceFormer namesRecon Training ComplexLocationBodymoor HeathWarwickshireCoordinates52 34 7 N 01 43 14 W 52 56861 N 1 72056 W 52 56861 1 72056OwnerAston Villa F C TypeSports training facilitySurfaceGrass pitches 9 Synthetic turf 2 ConstructionBuilt1970sExpanded2007 complete redevelopment 2020 academy amp performance centre Construction costTotal 27 millionTenantsAston Villa F C Many of the past and present Aston Villa players have taken up residence in the area one of the more rural parts of the Midlands enabling them speedy travel to training sessions The training ground houses both the first team and the youth academy The facilities at Bodymoor Heath are also used as the home ground for the academy teams using provided pitches and changing rooms The Under 23s previously played at Villa Park although the construction of a 500 seater match complex in 2019 allowed for all of the academy teams to play within the training ground 1 Contents 1 History 2 HS2 Impact 3 Sponsorship 4 ReferencesHistory Edit Aston Villa signage at Bodymoor Heath seen in 2009 Note the tennis courts behind the goalpost The land used for Bodymoor Heath was purchased sometime during the 1970s from a local farmer by then Chairman Doug Ellis to replace the previous training facility in Trinity Road Aston However by the late 1990s the facilities had started to look dated prompting then Villa manager John Gregory to criticise Ellis stating that he believed he was stuck in a time warp 2 citing the Chairman s reluctance to invest further in the training ground as something of considerable concern Planning permission had been a significant problem for the club s intention to modernise the training facilities and it wasn t until November 2005 that Aston Villa announced an 8 million redevelopment of Bodymoor Heath Before the team s 2005 06 Premier League performance Ellis had revealed that the club had budgeted the plans for achieving 10th 12th place 3 However they finished 16th and as a result the development came to halt having already been scaled down from its original plans Once Randy Lerner purchased the club in September 2006 the club announced that work on the redevelopment of Bodymoor Heath would continue but with revisions and upgrades of the original plans resulting in a total cost of redevelopment of 13 million 4 The new training ground designed by HB Architects was officially unveiled on 6 May 2007 In March 2019 Aston Villa submitted plans to the local council to expand the gymnastics and sport science areas of the main Bodymoor Heath building 5 as well as adding a larger match analysis room and increasing the area used for physical training eight fold It has been reported that the new performance centre has been inspired by the facilities of the Minnesota Vikings NFL team during a pre season tour 6 This followed a complete redevelopment of the Academy training ground which included construction of a 500 seater mini stadium This allowed the Under 23 s who previously played their home games at Villa Park to play at the training ground instead 1 This was part of a complete relocation of the southern half of the training ground caused by land lost due to HS2 These developments were valued at over 20 million overall 7 The development continued throughout 2020 under the supervision of new CEO Christian Purslow but were delayed by restrictions related to the COVID 19 pandemic in the United Kingdom 8 On 4 May 2021 Bodymoor Heath s new High Performance Centre was officially opened by Prince William Duke of Cambridge 9 HS2 Impact EditThe construction of High Speed 2 has caused significant issues for Aston Villa as the line will pass directly through the south east corner of Bodymoor Heath This has caused disruption for the first team and academy In 2018 contractors O Brien were appointed to oversee the relocation of significant parts of Bodymoor Heath particularly the Academy where the line would directly cut into in order to compensate for the land lost All the academy pitches and two first team pitches were moved The overall cost of the Academy project cost 14 million which was solely funded by the 14 5 million compensation received from the Government 10 Sponsorship EditIn April 2018 Aston Villa announced that Bodymoor Heath was to be renamed the Recon Training Complex 11 after a group owned by the club s sole owner at the time Tony Xia Although the sponsorship was initially stated to last for 5 years the majority purchase of Aston Villa by a partnership consisting of Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens eventually saw the sponsorship deal scrapped after just 7 months and the old Bodymoor Heath name restored 12 References Edit a b Preece Ashley 9 December 2019 The new Aston Villa training ground complex giving fans their fix birminghammail Retrieved 5 February 2020 Gregory plays down chairman row Villa chief gives O Leary backing Bodymoor Heath Opening 6 May 2007 Birmingham Mail Bodymoor Heath Preece Ashley 5 February 2020 Revealed What Aston Villa are really building at Bodymoor Heath birminghammail Retrieved 5 February 2020 Percy John 28 February 2020 Aston Villa owners grand vision remains undimmed despite threat of relegation The Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 Retrieved 8 March 2020 Preece Ashley 11 April 2020 Explained The grand Aston Villa plan to extend Bodymoor Heath Birmingham Mail Retrieved 4 May 2021 The Duke of Cambridge opens new High Performance Centre Aston Villa F C Official Site 4 May 2021 Archived from the original on 4 May 2021 Retrieved 4 May 2021 Behind the scenes at Aston Villa Amazing drone photos of spanking new 14m Bodymoor Heath academy Birmingham Live Aston Villa Football Club the official club website Photo Aston Villa s new owners take down Recon signs at Bodymoor Heath 15 November 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bodymoor Heath Training Ground amp oldid 1137656048, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
