Southampton’s training ground has been Staplewood Campus ever since 1987 but the Saints invested heavily in redeveloping their complex in the 2010s to make it a state-of-the-art site.
The south coast club sought to extensively overhaul their training ground with Southampton keen to future-proof the club’s facilities. Saints chiefs hoped the redevelopment work would ensure the St Mary’s Stadium natives would not need to have a new complex any time soon.
It set Southampton back around £40m to redesign their training ground, which re-opened in 2014 following the initial stages. Further building work also continued throughout the 2010s to provide a permanent facility for Southampton’s academy, as well as the Saints’ first-team.
Initial projections for the redevelopment of Staplewood saw Southampton set aside a £15m budget for their training ground. But the cost quickly doubled to £30m, before increasing to £33m for the initial phases of the work plus a further £6 at first for the additional elements.
Work to redevelop Staplewood in the 2010s also ensured the training ground had a natural flow for players progressing from the academy to Southampton’s first-team squad. It meant players started their journeys in the Under-8s at one end of the site and move to the other.
Staplewood also honours late Southampton owner, Markus Liebherr, with the main building named after the Swiss billionaire who rescued the club from administration in 2009. It was a long-held desire of Liebherr to redevelop Staplewood that his daughter, Katharina, oversaw.
Southampton initially moved into Staplewood during the 1980s after taking over the facility Road-Sea Southampton had used before dissolving. It has since grown to become a 42-acre facility in the village of Marchwood, which further houses the Southampton Women’s team.
Southampton training ground name
Southampton’s training ground has long adopted the name Staplewood or, officially, as the Staplewood Campus. It is also named after the adjacent Staplewood Lane, which connects the area of Marchwood to the east with the New Forest Wildlife Park on the south coast.
Southampton’s Staplewood training ground has nine pitches
The Staplewood training ground gives Southampton the use of nine full-size football pitches. But only two of the pitches are predominantly assigned to the Saints’ first-team and the one closest to the Markus Liebherr Pavilion is designed to replicate the pitch in use at St Mary’s.
Additionally, the academy sides have predominant use of an indoor dome at Southampton’s training ground featuring an artificial pitch. The first-team seldom use the artificial pitch due to the nature of their senior squad playing on proper grass pitches, rather than on astroturf.
What facilities does Southampton’s Staplewood training ground have?
Southampton worked with AFL Architects to design Staplewood amid the redevelopment of their training ground in the 2010s. They sought to integrate natural, unfinished timber in the design to create a contemporary look which fits well with the surrounding New Forest area.
Staplewood further features rehabilitation and treatment facilities, including a hydrotherapy pool and medical areas, as well as a press room, office spaces, a dining room, a lounge area and a lecture theatre. The Saints also invested in a fresh, state-of-the-art gym room in 2022.
The pool at Southampton’s training ground is also unconventional with the Saints favouring a deep length and a shallow length. Southampton chiefs sought to boast an unconventional swimming pool at the venue for deep water running and other hydrotherapy exercise types.
Staplewood address
Southampton training ground: Staplewood Campus, Long Lane, Marchwood, Southampton, Hampshire, SO40 4WR