A planning application has been submitted for Luton Town Football Club to build a domed indoor academy training pitch as the only way the Hatters can ‘hope to compete with richer clubs.’
Also proposed as ‘critical to the club’s future sustainability’, which will help ‘retain talented young players’ and promote the image of the town internationally, the application seeks permission to build a facility on the playing field at the back of Barnfield Academy South on the Cutenhoe Road.
Covered by an ‘air supported membrane’, the indoor training facility will be 250 metres away from their first-team training headquarters at The Brache
An outline planning application letter dated June 22 and published on Luton Council’s website, reads: ‘The club want to obtain Academy Category 2 status, which requires an indoor pitch. At present, the Club’s junior and under 23 sides only have Category 3 status.
‘Having Academy Category 2 status not only helps the club’s young players through the provision of better facilities, but also means that he club’s future stars are less likely to be tempted to move to clubs with better academy facilities. In an ever more competitive environment, this pitch is therefore critical to the club’s future sustainability.
‘Having Category 2 status means that the club will be able to play in the Premier League’s under 23 development games programme. This will mean that the club’s young players will be playing against better players which should assist in their progression to the first team.
‘Only by being able to develop local and home-grown players can the club hope to compete with richer clubs.
‘Furthermore, the club’s training ground at The Brache and Luton Town has been selected as a location for teams appearing at the, now delayed, 2020 European Championship.
‘The provision of a new state-of-the-art indoor pitch will make The Brache and Luton more attractive for international teams and will boost the prospects of an international team choosing to locate in Luton. If a team does base itself in Luton, it will help in promoting Luton’s image.’
