Football Performance:

the facilities at Cormack Park will result in:

• 10,000 additional hours every year – gained from time previously spent on mini-bus journeys to/from previous facilities across the city.

• 40% increase in on-pitch contact time for Academy players – through a greater volume and longer coaching sessions.

• 200% increase in pitch space availability – all the Academy teams will now benefit from more specific, tactical work as a team unit.

• 43,000 sport specific, performance meals will be served annually to our professional football players and staff by catering partners, Baxter Storey.

• 150m2 of high-performance gym space where more players can train at the same time – equivalent to an additional 1,200 hours of training.

Construction:

• The ground remediation work and construction were completed in 13 months and involved 65,000 man hours.

• More than 4km of drainage pipework has been installed under the three professional pitches.

• 4,500 tonnes of gravel, 9,000 tonnes of sand and 4,000 tonnes of rootzone (special sand/soil mix for the grass) was used in preparation of the pitches.

• 25km of heating pipe was used for the undersoil heating on the hybrid pitch.

• 45,500km of polyethylene yarn was sown into the hybrid pitch by one of only six machines in Europe. The length of yarn is greater than the earth’s circumference. The giant sowing machine worked non-stop, 24 hours a day for a week to create the hybrid surface of real grass and artificial fibres.