Leicester City Target Forest Hill as a Proposed Site for Club's New Training Ground

Leicester City are planning to build a new state of art training facility to replace their current complex at Belvoir Drive, which has been their training ground home for the last since 1965. 

As reported by the Leicester Mercury, club officials visited the Forest Hill site, which is ten miles away from the King Power stadium to hold initial talks. Although, no commitment has yet been given by the club to purchase any land yet. 

Forest Hill was put up for sale three years ago for offers in excess of £2m, and the Foxes are one of number interested parties.

There are, however, concerns that the Foxes will struggle to gain permission for the move due to a number of factors including the fact that the club is likely to face strong resistance over public access.

Furthermore, the likely disruption and reshaping to the landscape, the impact on local wildlife and the need to improve the infrastructure to cope with the excessive demand are all mitigating issues that will need to be suitably overcome. 

Nevertheless, Leicester City officials have been diligent in their research and have courted advice from Manchester City who now have the impressive Etihad Campus on an 80 acre complex.

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New Leicester boss Claude Puel was also made aware of the proposed move and the club’s desire to build a new training ground on his arrival.

“The present training centre is not new, but the feeling is very good and I found a good atmosphere," he said.

“For the future they are modelling a new training ground and there will be new facilities coming. It is an exciting time and I am honoured to be here.”

These developments for the club's future reflects the progression the club has made since the take over by the Srivaddhanaprabha family. The 2016 Premier League champions continue to strive to compete in a changing football climate to give themselves a vital edge in a competitive market.