Future
On 27 July 2007, Burnley revealed plans for a £20 million redevelopment of Turf Moor. The plans also included the creation of a youth academy at the club's training facility at Gawthorpe Hall in nearby Padiham. The plans were detailed in six phases. In the first phase it was planned to move the changing rooms to the corner between the James Hargreaves Stand and the Jimmy McIlroy Stand. The second phase included the demolition of the Cricket Field Stand a new stand to be built at that end of the ground that would incorporate a hotel, a restaurant and a newly constructed cricket pavilion, and would be able to accommodate 2,500 fans. The redevelopments also included the construction of a multi-storey car park adjacent to the stadium. Other planned improvements include a new club superstore and other retail outlets, and new business offices on the site of the current club shop. Revealed in the fifth phase was a transformation of the Bob Lord Stand, which will eventually house a multi-screen cinema. The development of a second tier on the Bob Lord stand was later revealed by Burnley chief executive Paul Fletcher, taking the anticipated capacity of Turf Moor to 28,000 spectators.
Work on the stadium was expected to start in late 2007 and finish in time for the 2010 season. Planning permission for the first stage of developments was granted on 7 April 2008 and work on the new players' block was planned to commence in the summer of 2008. It was decided to not start building until permission had been received for all phases of the development including the rebuilding of the Cricket Field Stand. In October 2008, the project was put on hold by the club as a result of the global economic crisis restricting available funds. Revised plans were revealed in November 2009, with further announcements expected in early 2010. However further developments may be further delayed due to the club's relegation from the Premier League.
In September 2011, Burnley Football Club will open the UK's first ever football university at Turf Moor. The university will teach up too 100 students per year about the business side of football. Seminar rooms have been added to the Jimmy McIllroy stand for lectures and classes.
Read more about this topic: Turf Moor
Famous quotes containing the word future:
“It has no future but itself—
Its infinite contain
Its past—enlightened to perceive
New periods of pain.”
—Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
“Only he who can view his own past as an abortion sprung from compulsion and need can use it to full advantage in the present. For what one has lived is at best comparable to a beautiful statue which has had all its limbs knocked off in transit, and now yields nothing but the precious block out of which the image of one’s future must be hewn.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)
“‘Tis the world-old way of the rain
When it comes to a mountain farm
To exact for a present gain
A little of future harm.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)