Premiership: Northampton Saints get new high performance facility

Lawrence Nolan

Northampton Saints’ long-term plans have been boosted by permission from the local authority for construction of a new high performance indoor facility.

The ‘Northampton Saints High Performance Centre’ will be constructed on one of the current training pitches, providing all-year, all-weather training facilities. Building should start in June, finishing sometime early next year.

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“I am thrilled that we have now formally authorised the work to begin on our new High Performance Centre at Franklin’s Gardens,” said Mark Darbon, chief executive at Northampton Saints.

“This will be a major build; the first of this scale at the club for many years.

“While we are already very proud of our home, we must continue to invest in our facilities to underpin our ambition to be successful at the very top of our sport and attract some of the best players in the world.

“The High Performance Centre will create a step change in the quality of the facilities available to our performance staff and the playing group – in short, all year round we will be able to train onsite, on high-quality surfaces, whatever the weather.”

Saint have been upgrading a number of facilities this season, improving their other training pitches to Premiership standard. The new facility will also feature a half-pitch in its hall.