Ipswich Town plans 'multi-million pound' rebuild of training ground

Ipswich Town's Playford Road training ground, pictured in 2016, needs a "total rebuild", chief executive Mark Ashton said

A multi-million pound renovation of Ipswich Town Football Club's training ground is its "next big project", chief executive Mark Ashton has said.

Mr Ashton told a fans forum the club was working with architects on a new design for the Playford Road site, which he said needed a "total rebuild".

He said "a more professional environment" was needed.

"We need a multi-million pound spend on the facilities at the training ground to bring us up to speed," he said.

Over the summer, the newly promoted Championship club spent £2.5m renovating the pitch at its Portman Road ground, while the training ground has already had similar hybrid surfaces installed.

Speaking at a fans forum at Portman Road, Mr Ashton said it was important to get the new facility at Playford Road, on the outskirts of the town, right for manager Kieran McKenna and the players.

"[One] that Kieran can work in, develop players, enhance players, recruit players to," he said.

Ipswich Town spent £2.5m renovating the pitch at its Portman Road ground over the summer

Fans also quizzed the club on its plans for the former Staples site behind the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand, and were told by chief financial officer Tom Ball that it was "a case of being a little bit patient".

"We've got to think around all the best uses of that land, mainly for the football club because we're biased, but for the town as a whole and what delivers the best return for the town and the county," he said.

Mr Ball also spoke about the long-term plans for a rebuild of the Cobbold Stand, which is now more than 50 years old, to improve facilities and increase capacity, and said it was "something that we're working on".

"We want to have things there ready for when the time is right," he said.

"We're not talking 12 months, we're not talking 24 months, we're talking a good few years into the future because we want to be firmly established wherever we are and we don't want to be turning fans away."

Mr Ashton added that the club was currently in discussion with the local authority "about what it would look like", but the timing on it was "absolutely critical" because he did not want the cost of a new stand to affect the team.

He said: "It won't just be something that's done quickly and it certainly won't be allowed to risk the football club or affect what we want to do on the pitch."

Mr Ashton also announced the memorial garden behind the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand for the ashes of fans interred on the old pitch will open on 11 November.