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QPR Football Club’s Youth Academy have signed an agreement to be based at the Park Club, the prestigious 27 acre health & sports club in Acton with immediate effect.
The Youth Academy is made up of 14 to 17 year olds, who, hopefully, will go on to represent QPR in the Premier League. The investment in their future is of huge importance to the continuing success of QPR and it has been decided that their existing facilities are not of the required standard, but those the Park Club most definitely are.
With London Premier League opposition, notably Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs recently investing millions of pounds in their training facilities (Spurs are just completing a £45 million facility), the management of QPR realised that the Park Club, only a mile and a half from their stadium at Loftus Road, would be ideal to bring along the next generation of David Beckhams.
Dan White, Managing Director of The Park Club said,“Our partnership with QPR will bring many benefits – coaching for young Park Club Members, football camps, tickets for matches, with pre-game breakfasts and walks to Loftus Road with ex-players. By September 2012 we will provide 2 x 5-a-side floodlit football courts in the latest G3 long pile Astroturf. These will be shared with our Community Partner, East Acton Primary School, but available for our young and adult members outside of school hours. This gives us a long dreamt of opportunity to develop our adult football on a state of the art surface, with involvement from a Premier League coaching team”.
The Youth Academy will be training on the two pitches at the Club, which QPR will be substantially improving and maintaining. Various existing club buildings will be used for administration and physiotherapy, with team changing rooms, ready-made classrooms, restaurants, gymnasium provided when the Club is largely unoccupied.
Previously, Dan’s family and its other Clubs in West London have had a long association with sport; forty years ago, Dan’s father allowed travelling overseas professionals free use of his first venture, Lambton Place Squash Club. At the time, this arrangement was unheard of and even frowned upon, but it was a key part of the immense success that Lambton enjoyed. In the early days at the Hogarth Club, we welcomed world champions from karate and the Wigan Rugby League team, at a time when they were World Club Champions, whenever they were in London.
More recently, The Park Club have sponsored past, present and future Olympians in various sports; some of its members have enjoyed the privilege of rowing next to James Cracknell on the Ergo, whilst other’s have experienced swimming alongside Rebecca Adlington in the outdoor pool and listening to England Cricket Captain Andrew Strauss in a Review of The Ashes.
With the addition of a 2250 square metre Sports Dome added in late 2011, The Park Club are able to put increased effort into really delivering opportunities for sport. Beyond football, the club has experienced a very strong increase in participation and performance of tennis as a result. Other developments have seen uptake and performance soar in the Swim Squad, triathlon, and cricket amongst the myriad of sports available at the club.
The Park Club hopes that having the talent the Academy possess on site will further inspire some of its members to share the determination to succeed at the highest level.
Dan goes on to say, “I see a very important part of my role as developing new and exciting strategies for The Park Club, whilst providing our Members, our core business, with on-going improvements in the quality of the services they receive. Over the last few years I have been looking at various ideas to develop areas of our large 27 acre site that were not being fully utilised. The opportunity to get involved with QPR and sport at its highest level is compelling and provides a perfect use for the site for both QPR and our Member’s use”.
The Park Club is a family owned health and sports Club for the family, in West London. Set in 27 acres of private grounds, it is beautifully green and spacious with a football pitches, tennis courts (4 recently covered), cricket pitches and more. These facilities combined with expert coaching provide a fabulous environment to pursue various sports to the highest level as well as a place for families to come together and relax.
The Youth Academy is made up of 14 to 17 year olds, who, hopefully, will go on to represent QPR in the Premier League. The investment in their future is of huge importance to the continuing success of QPR and it has been decided that their existing facilities are not of the required standard, but those the Park Club most definitely are.
With London Premier League opposition, notably Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs recently investing millions of pounds in their training facilities (Spurs are just completing a £45 million facility), the management of QPR realised that the Park Club, only a mile and a half from their stadium at Loftus Road, would be ideal to bring along the next generation of David Beckhams.
Dan White, Managing Director of The Park Club said,“Our partnership with QPR will bring many benefits – coaching for young Park Club Members, football camps, tickets for matches, with pre-game breakfasts and walks to Loftus Road with ex-players. By September 2012 we will provide 2 x 5-a-side floodlit football courts in the latest G3 long pile Astroturf. These will be shared with our Community Partner, East Acton Primary School, but available for our young and adult members outside of school hours. This gives us a long dreamt of opportunity to develop our adult football on a state of the art surface, with involvement from a Premier League coaching team”.
The Youth Academy will be training on the two pitches at the Club, which QPR will be substantially improving and maintaining. Various existing club buildings will be used for administration and physiotherapy, with team changing rooms, ready-made classrooms, restaurants, gymnasium provided when the Club is largely unoccupied.
Previously, Dan’s family and its other Clubs in West London have had a long association with sport; forty years ago, Dan’s father allowed travelling overseas professionals free use of his first venture, Lambton Place Squash Club. At the time, this arrangement was unheard of and even frowned upon, but it was a key part of the immense success that Lambton enjoyed. In the early days at the Hogarth Club, we welcomed world champions from karate and the Wigan Rugby League team, at a time when they were World Club Champions, whenever they were in London.
More recently, The Park Club have sponsored past, present and future Olympians in various sports; some of its members have enjoyed the privilege of rowing next to James Cracknell on the Ergo, whilst other’s have experienced swimming alongside Rebecca Adlington in the outdoor pool and listening to England Cricket Captain Andrew Strauss in a Review of The Ashes.
With the addition of a 2250 square metre Sports Dome added in late 2011, The Park Club are able to put increased effort into really delivering opportunities for sport. Beyond football, the club has experienced a very strong increase in participation and performance of tennis as a result. Other developments have seen uptake and performance soar in the Swim Squad, triathlon, and cricket amongst the myriad of sports available at the club.
The Park Club hopes that having the talent the Academy possess on site will further inspire some of its members to share the determination to succeed at the highest level.
Dan goes on to say, “I see a very important part of my role as developing new and exciting strategies for The Park Club, whilst providing our Members, our core business, with on-going improvements in the quality of the services they receive. Over the last few years I have been looking at various ideas to develop areas of our large 27 acre site that were not being fully utilised. The opportunity to get involved with QPR and sport at its highest level is compelling and provides a perfect use for the site for both QPR and our Member’s use”.
The Park Club is a family owned health and sports Club for the family, in West London. Set in 27 acres of private grounds, it is beautifully green and spacious with a football pitches, tennis courts (4 recently covered), cricket pitches and more. These facilities combined with expert coaching provide a fabulous environment to pursue various sports to the highest level as well as a place for families to come together and relax.
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