St. George’s Park To Undergo Radical Refurbishment
The FA’s home to all England men’s, women’s and para teams will receive significant investment to ensure the world-class facility continues to evolve.
The ambitious SGP 2.0 project will create a reimagined elite performance venue utilised by club and national squads, as well as a destination for leading athletes and sports teams.
Since opening in 2012, St. George’s Park has played a vital role in helping to produce winning England teams as well as becoming a central hub for coach education.
Now three key areas of the site will be targeted for further improvement:
Competitive advantage: All England team pitch surfaces will be upgraded to improve wet weather playability, with pitchside hub buildings, screens, and landscaping to maximise training effectiveness during international camps. Performance and recovery facilities will also be upgraded.
Player and coach expectations: Modernisation of hotel bedrooms and communal spaces to better fit team’s needs, plus installation of permanent downtime activities. Inclusive design of all new and upgraded spaces, plus adding new features to maximise SGP’s accessibility for elite talent.
Football Innovation: Inspirational learning and meeting rooms that encourage creativity in everyone’s daily work, together with bespoke areas and technology for performance innovation by our coaches, staff and external partners.
John McDermott, The FA’s men’s technical director, said of the project: “SGP 2.0 will level up our capacity to deliver an elite experience for players and to give ourselves every possible chance for success.
“Development of the site over the next three years helps us to build towards performing at our best in every aspect — for our players to train, perform and recover in a second-to-none environment and for us to build a legacy of coaching excellence supported by the very latest in technology and innovation.”
Kay Cossington, The FA’s women’s technical director, added: “SGP 2.0 offers us the opportunity to consider the needs of our elite women’s teams and female coaches, and to design spaces that work for different groups.
“We’ll offer inclusive facilities which have in the past overlooked various needs. Inclusion is at the heart of SGP 2.0, with a new learning and innovation centre and exceptional downtime facilities also slated for the development.
“Realising the vision of SGP 2.0 means we’ll be able to offer a world-class training centre for each and every world-class athlete and coach we train.”
Catherine Gilby, The FA’s head of para performance, said: “SGP 2.0 represents a groundbreaking, exciting and ambitious leap forward, not just for English football, but for the global disability sports landscape.
“This world-class facility and infrastructure will provide our elite para-players with an environment to train, recover, and perform at the highest level. It is a statement of our commitment to not only leading the way in ‘football for all’ but also ensuring that our elite para-teams have the best possible platform to succeed on the world stage.”
Upgrades were made to the site in 2024 including revamped team briefing rooms and a modernisation of the Club England space within the on-site Hilton hotel. Work will continue in early 2025 and be completed in phases through to 2028.
Images: The FA/Instinct Laboratory
