Less than a decade old, Chelsea's training facilities at Cobham are some of the best not only in England, but the whole world. Manicured pitches, including a replica of the turf at the Bridge, state-of-art rehab and medical facilities (used by other world stars of sport and entertainment, too), cutting edge technology left, right, and center. They are, in every sense of the word, world class.
So it's perhaps a bit surprising, especially given the weather in England, that there isn't a large open indoor facility at Cobham. Other teams, such as Manchester City, or, say the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, or, even, as the promo material states, Brighton and Wolverhampton, they all have them.
Now, we're about to catch up. Chelsea have inked a deal with a company called Spatial Structures to build a 60x80m indoor space, where no supporting columns can get in the way. It's not quite long enough to fit a regulation pitch inside (minimum 90m), but it's almost as wide as the pitch at Stamford Bridge (67m). Work is already under way and is expected to done in September, just in time for any bad weather in the new season. The total cost of the project is expected to be £1.8m.
"We are delighted to have been chosen by Chelsea for this prestigious project. To have been chosen by a Club like Chelsea for a project of this importance is testament to our growing reputation in the industry. The new building will give the club a fantastic all year round, all weather training facility. Given the unpredictable nature of the British weather we are seeing a growing demand in sports clubs both large and small, wanting to cover existing facilities, meaning that bad weather need never stop play or training."
-Terry Young, director; source: Spatial Structures
Despite the bad results this season, Chelsea are moving full steam ahead on several building projects, including this small thing, plus the purchase of Kingsmeadow for use by the youth and Ladies teams, and of course the brand new stadium. Here's to better days and a brighter future!