Two to three year stay expected at '˜local, idyllic and tranquil' training ground

Crawley Town envisage their training ground to be based at its new home of Ifield Green for two or three years.
By The Newsroom
Published 10th Jun 2016, 10:00 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 22:54 BST

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Members of the Sikh community with Crawley Town Head Coach Dermot Drummy, assistant Matt Gray and Operations Director Kelly Derham at the launch of the partnership at the Sikh Gurdwara and Community Sports Centre in Ifield Green. Picture: James Boardman TPI-0293Members of the Sikh community with Crawley Town Head Coach Dermot Drummy, assistant Matt Gray and Operations Director Kelly Derham at the launch of the partnership at the Sikh Gurdwara and Community Sports Centre in Ifield Green. Picture: James Boardman TPI-0293
Members of the Sikh community with Crawley Town Head Coach Dermot Drummy, assistant Matt Gray and Operations Director Kelly Derham at the launch of the partnership at the Sikh Gurdwara and Community Sports Centre in Ifield Green. Picture: James Boardman TPI-0293

The site - which is at the Sikh Gurdwara and Community Sport Centre - is previously the home of Edwards Sports and Social Club and just ten minutes away from the Checkatrade Stadium.

Reds have signed a one-year lease at the site, which has two pitches, one of which will be fully operational by September.

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Head coach Dermot Drummy pushed for a location close to the ground so they can utilise the facilities there, opting to move from their base in Ardingly College last year.

They will utilise changing rooms at their Broadfield ground as well as physio areas and sport science rooms after training.

Drummy said: “I am really pleased it is at Ifield Green, it’s behind a nice Sikh temple and hopefully we will get two pitches on there.

“It is just nice to have a training ground. It’s local, it’s idyllic, it’s tranquil and there is no through-fair and there is not a lot of noise.

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“We are going to be based at the ground here which is why we are pushing for the refurbishment of all the old academy buildings. I have got to say I am really happy with it.

“To be diverse, I think we want to bring fans from the local community into the Checkatrade, so the more people we get in and the social mix in is better for everybody.”

There will be tickets available to the Sikh community to visit games next season as the club looks to forge more links into the local community to help boost attendances.

On how long they plan to stay there, Drummy added: “I don’t know is the honest answer, we will certainly be there for this season and it depends on how much progress we make on the training ground and pitch in a winning capacity.

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“The lease is a year initially and I think it could be two or three years that we are there to establish ourselves as a club, which is perfect.”

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Related topics:Crawley Town