St George's Park National Football Centre

St George's Park is the English Football Association's national football centre on a 330acre site at Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire. The centre was officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on 9 October 2012.The purpose of the centre is to be the base for all coaching and development work undertaken by the FA, and the training and preparation ground for all of the England national football teams.It is also home to the England Rugby League team.HistoryOriginally part of Needwood Forest, the hunting grounds were developed by the Berkeley family in the 13th century. After passing into the hands of the crown, in the 1700s the lease again became owned by private individuals. Passing to the Bass family in 1850, the country house was redeveloped in the 1870s, after which an extensive horse racing stud was developed. After the death of Sir William Bass, 2nd Baronet in 1952, the estate was sold off and the house demolished.Purchase and planningBefore the proposed development, the FA had two streams of development facility: Lilleshall Hall had provided coaching for England's best young players, but had been superseded from both a facility and commercial viewpoint by numerous youth academies opened by various football clubsBisham Abbey is a multi-sport complex which the FA had used for preparing the national team for matches. But the FA wanted a purpose-built, state-of-the-art complex reserved solely for football. Following research by FA technical director Howard Wilkinson, the FA bought the 350acre site for £2 million in 2001 from the Forte Hotels division of Granada Leisure plc.