Western United plans elite training facility

Article posted by Coliseum, September 28^th, 2020

Image: Wyndham City Stadium

Australian A-League football club Western United has unlocked plans to build a new elite training facility next to its new facility, Wyndham City Stadium.

Wyndham City Stadium is a proposed 15,000-seat purpose-built football stadium which will be built in Tarneit, West of Melbourne (Australia). The venue will be the future home of new Melbourne A-League expansion side, Western United FC, who joined the competition for the 2019-20 seasons.

The A-League is the highest-level professional men’s soccer league in Australia. The A-League was established in 2004 by Football Federation Australia (FFA) as a successor to the National Soccer League (NSL) and competition commenced in August 2005.

The training complex in Melbourne will include three pitches – two grasses and one synthetic – and will be able to sit 5,000 spectators.

The facility will be jointly funded and developed by Wyndham City and the Western Melbourne Group, and Western United will share the facilities with the broader Wyndham community.

The facility will encompass a main grass pitch with 5,000 seats that will serve as the main training base for United’s A-League team and future W-League and girls and boys academy teams.

A second grass pitch, and a third synthetic pitch will primarily be for community use, building on the club’s connection with the footballers and broader community of the West.

United Chairman Jason Sourasis said, “Building the Western United Football Club and growing the game of football in the West has always been the ambitious vision of all involved in the project. This partnership between the Western Melbourne Group and the Wyndham City Council is a groundbreaking initiative in Australia. It’s built on effort, collaboration and building for the future, which are the values that we’ve built Western United on and the values that our fans share.”

“The training precinct is all about the growth of the sport, the ability for kids to train close to their A-League heroes, and for football in the West to have a strong pathway from junior football to the elite level. There are more kids playing football than any other sport in this country so we’re really proud to be able to build this amazing facility for the kids of the West. Today’s announcement is the first of many to come that will start to bring our vision to life. We can’t wait to see our fans at Wyndham City Stadium in the near future.”

To date, Western Melbourne Group has completed the entire site investigations (including but not limited to, geotechnical, economic benefit, traffic, cultural heritage, flora and fauna, site services, infrastructure, etc.) required to develop a concept masterplan for 1160 Sayers Road North in Australia.

The concept masterplan, developed in collaboration with Wyndham City Council, forms part of a planning submission that has been submitted to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) for nod.

The application is currently being assessed with an outcome expected in the near future. Construction on the new precinct will commence in early 2021, to be completed by early 2023.

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