New air dome at Peterborough United training ground set for completion within a month

A proposed view of how the dome will look.

The dome is part of the club’s revamp of their training ground at Nene Park Academy on Oundle Road.

Approval was given in June for the 63m long x 45m wide x 11m high structure, covering a 3G pitch, that will allow the club’s academy to gain Category 2 status, the second highest available. This will allow the club to command a higher fee for their young players and access to higher quality youth leagues to help develop their players.

Speaking at the club’s fans forum on Monday night (November 1), Co-owner Jason Neale confirmed that all of the engineering and groundworks at the site had been completed and that the new turf had now been laid.

A proposed layout of the training ground.

Posh expect that their provisional Category 2 status will be fully confirmed at the end of the month by an FA Audit of the completed dome.

The original planning application stated that the facility would be available for use to the school and general public. The supporting accommodation will also include:

- Four team changing rooms

- Coaches and referee changing rooms

- A team meeting room

- An analysis suite

- A guest lounge for parents and guardians of players

- Office support space

The plans were initially rejected for being “incongruous to the surrounding area” but city planners reversed the decision at a planning meeting.

Fellow Co-owner Darragh MacAnthony also confirmed that the construction of the dome is expected to come in at around £300,000 over budget, with factors such as Covid and Brexit blamed for increasing prices by up to 20 percent.

New Posh ‘air dome’ training centre in Peterborough gets green light from planners