BERLIN (Reuters) – German champions Bayern Munich broke ground on Friday for a new training centre and youth academy that will cost an estimated 70 million euros ($79.48 million), in order to keep up with the competition from other top European clubs, officials said.
The Bavarians, one of the world’s richest soccer clubs with a turnover of more than half a billion euros, have not had a home-grown player make a successful transition to the senior team since Thomas Mueller in 2009.
“We have a lot of catching up to do compared to the other big European clubs. That is why we are starting this now,” said club president Karl Hopfner during a ceremony on the plot near their Allianz Arena stadium in the north of the city.
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“I am convinced that this will become another milestone in Bayern history,” he said.
The new facility, to be completed by the start of the 2017/18 season, will have eight football pitches, including one with 2,500-seat stands, a youth academy, offices and a multi-purpose sports hall.
Bayern youth teams are currently using the Saebener street facilities which are home to the club headquarters and the senior team as well.
($1 = 0.8807 euros)
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by Toby Davis)
