Work has started on the huge new site set to house Cardiff City's academy as well as local and Cardiff University's sports teams in Llanrumney.
The collaboration between the Bluebirds, Cardiff Council and Cardiff University will see a state-of-the-art sports complex built to serve Cardiff University and the Llanrumney community sports Trust. The project will include a tier-two 3G football facility, a floodlit, 3G, World Rugby-standard rugby pitch and another dual floodlit football and rugby pitch which will have pitch markings for both sports.
Cardiff City FC will occupy 16 acres of the site, within which learning facilities will be included in the construction, with the plan to take over the old Doctor Who building and create a learning environment with classrooms for the youngsters who attend college.
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The two-storey building will include offices, a lecture theatre, canteen, changing rooms and a gym. The building will also house an indoor academy-standard 3G training pitch, in addition to five full-size grass pitches, a 3G tier-two standard pitch and a goalkeeper-specific training area.
The community facilities will occupy where the old Llanrumney High School playing fields are and will include a new building with changing facilities for the Llanrumney-based sports teams.
For Cardiff City FC, it is yet another huge stride towards leaning on and bettering the club's academy, which has produced a number of first-team players over the last two years. The club hope that number will increase in the years to come, too, with the hope being that this plush new facility attracts more kids in the catchment area to Wales' capital city club.
The Bluebirds have made a conscious decision to chop their wage bill drastically in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, with owner Vincent Tan seeing his leisure empire being hit hard in the pocket over recent years. There is a clear plan in place for Cardiff to make their academy as strong as it possibly can be with the aim of becoming far more self-sufficient in the years to come.
And that is the view taken by Bluebirds CEO Ken Choo, who believes the beginning of this construction is the first building block towards "future-proofing" the club in the long term.
“Tan Sri Vincent Tan and all of us on the board at Cardiff City Football Club see this fantastic development as one of the club’s cornerstones going forward," Choo said. "It is exciting times for the Academy coming back to Cardiff as we seek to build on the success of the recent influx of young players into our first-team squad.
“The investment will improve the quality of our facilities and future proof the Academy for years to come as we seek to drive standards and quality throughout the program of developing our young players into professional footballers.”
Cardiff City board member and House of Sport director Steve Borley added: "Finally, after a lot of hard work between all parties we are now able to deliver on our bold ambition to provide a sustainable multi-purpose facility in the east of Cardiff. There are huge benefits for all including Cardiff University students, Cardiff City Academy and especially the local sports clubs. I wish to thank our partners in the project - Cardiff University and Cardiff council - for recognising the benefits in joining forces in this collaborative investment.”
Speaking about its wider impact on the area in the east of Cardiff, Councillor Russell Goodway, Cabinet Member for Investment and Development at Cardiff Council, said: “This new state-of-the-art facility will not only benefit students from Cardiff University and the Cardiff City Football Academy, but the wider community of Llanrumney, as local rugby and football clubs will have access to the facility.
“The project is an excellent example of partnership working and is an important part of the Council’s strategy to improve Llanrumney, which also includes new housing schemes and a bridge to connect directly into the A48.”
Cardiff University’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students, Claire Morgan, said: “I am absolutely delighted that work has begun on this significant upgrade to our sports facilities, which will see them transformed into some of the best sport pitch provision in the UK.”
“This project offers a much-needed boost for our students’ sporting experience. It means more students will be able to benefit from sport which we know can help enhance and maintain mental health, boost academic achievement, and increase employability prospects.”
