July 9 2013

The Beckenham training ground

Crystal Palace have bought back their Beckenham training base.

Former chairman Simon Jordan did a 'sale and lease back' arrangement to raise much-needed cash at the time, while paying an annual rent of £200,000.

With the 12.3 acre site in Copers Cope Road up for auction, Palace decided to purchase the freehold back for £2.3million.

It now means CPFC 2010 now own the club, stadium and training ground for the first time in many years.

"You might say it is the final piece in the jigsaw, but perhaps not so dramatic as that," said co-chairman Steve Browett.

"It is good the club is in control of everything and that the club, the stadium and the training ground are all together now.

"It was not too much of a problem being there and paying the rent, but at some stage the landlord could have chucked us out or put the rent up from what was already a high figure.

"So Steve Parish had a meeting with Ian Holloway, Keith Millen, Gary Issott and Ben Garner on Saturday and told them we had this opportunity but they needed to say if it wasn't a good training ground and if they wanted to move further out and have more space.

"But they really think Beckenham is a good and everyone is happy with it. Gary and Ben said how important it was that we, as an inner city club, can attract kids from our area.

"If we didn't have Beckenham and moved to a training ground further out somewhere, it would make it difficult for kids from Croydon, Lambeth, Southwark, Wandsworth and Bromley to come.

"We are a south London club and it is important we had a training ground close to our stadium."