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Archived News from October 2018

NEW TRAINING GROUND TO OPEN NEXT MONTH
19th October 2018 11:23


New Mansfield Town Academy and training ground expected to be in use next month
chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Thursday 11 October 2018

Mansfield Town’s exciting, long-awaited new training ground - the RH Academy - should be officially opened next month.

After so many delays and issues in the past, the Stags don’t want to put on any pressure on a timeline, but there was a partial handing over last week and Academy director Steve Hymas said there was light at the end of the tunnel at last for all concerned.

“Probably by the end of next week it will be all done and landscaped,” he said “It will have a major benefit for everybody from the U7s to the U18s and the first team can come down here and get on some extra grass.

Read more at: https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/new-mansfield-town-academy-and-training-ground-expected-to-be-in-use-next-month-1-9391530

“It’s been a couple of years coming now, which every big project does. Some people got a bit frustrated because it wasn’t happening quickly enough. “But any big project takes a lot of years in the planning - it’s been maybe three years in total.

“We are getting there now. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel.” He added: “It is fantastic. It’s like a legacy - something to look back on in future years when I am old and decrepit and I can just come up here and watch some youth games.

“We want to move on to the next level as a club. We are in the fourth year of our youth set-up and we can start to produce our own players.”

The venue’s name - short for The Radford & Hymas Academy - honours Stags chairman John Radford and director Hymas, whose funds have made the project possible.

The duo’s company - Mansfield Town Developments - has supplied £1.5 million to the project, while the company also received a grant of £500,000 from the Premier League and FA Facilities Fund. The state-of-the-art facility will boast a new full-sized and floodlit 3G pitch, built to FIFA standards, plus three-full sized grass pitches and a mini-pitch, which will make the facility a hive of activity at weekends. The pavilion will consist of four dressing rooms, showers and associated physio rooms, as well as a function room on the ground floor, which will include kitchen facilities to allow the room to be used by the local community for functions. Blank weekend frustration as Mansfield Town play it safe over missing key defenders On the first floor will be two classrooms and offices which will be used as an education hub.

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David Flitcroft excited by Mansfield Town’s RH Academy
chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Tuesday 16 October 2018

David Flitcroft admitted he was very excited about the imminent opening of Mansfield Town’s new RH Academy training ground at Pleasley. The ground has faced several delays in recent years but is finally set to open its doors next month.

“It’s something we are massively excited about and I can’t wait to get down there,” said Flitcroft. “It is one of the reasons I came here. Down at Swindon we were training at a leisure centre where we had one pitch.

“I asked the Swindon chairman what were his plans and a training ground wasn’t a key focus. “There is a real plan here. We had Brooksby and we had the One Call and they were not talking to each other - communication had broken down.

Read more at: https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/david-flitcroft-excited-by-mansfield-town-s-rh-academy-1-9403710

“So we have bridged that gap and are in fantastic communication with people who are doing an incredible job down at Brooksby. They are top people.”

He continued: “There are two things that improve players and they are resource and a training ground. “A lot of the academies are trying to go classroom-based, but I think get them out on the training pitch, get then out on the grass, get them out in the gym and improve them physically. It’s the only way. You need to go out and do it, not just talk about it.”

Flitcroft believes bringing his first team squad alongside the U21s and the cream of the U18s will be hugely beneficial to all.

“I have a young squad here and they all love being out on the training ground,” he said. “When we get the new training ground it will be easier to do double sessions. The U21s will be up there with too.

“We have had five or six U21s train with us while we have been up here. When you have them alongside you, you can see their character.

“And the best three or four U18s will get the opportunity to come up and train with us too. It will aspirational and inspirational.”

Meanwhile, Mansfield Town intend moving all their reserve team fixtures up to the new RH Academy training ground at Pleasley. Although the grass pitches are not yet ready, the main 3G surface is complete and Stags played a Central League game on there for the first time this week, beating Grimsby Town 1-0.

With it being a 3G surface, Stags are aware some opponents could object. “I think when they see the actual surface they will see it’s a top class one,” added Flitcroft. “It’s a fantastic surface and I don’t think too many teams will object unless they have older players that they want to give games to. “It’s a fantastic place to play any game of football.”

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Latest | October 2018