READING FC'S new state-of-the-art training ground at Bearwood went one step closer to fruition today.
The club has now completed the purchase of land that was once Bearwood Golf Club in order to build the new multi-million pound facility.
The 120-acre site has been sold by owners, The Royal Merchant Navy Education Foundation (RMNEF), and work on the new training centre is due to start shortly.
The facility will boast 13 football pitches, a luxury building for the first-team squad, an Academy centre and several other buildings.
Three of the pitches will be full size and will mirror the exact dimensions of the Madejski Stadium.
There will also be a floodlit, all-weather pitch, two goalkeeping practice areas in addition to 26 residential properties next to the former sawmill.
Charles Heron-Watson, CEO of RMNEF said: “We’re delighted to announce completion of the sale and believe the Bearwood Estate will make an excellent base for Reading FC to achieve continued success.
“At the Royal Merchant Navy Education Foundation, we’re excited about the possibilities that now exist for helping even more children and young people to achieve their goal.”
RMNEF has been based on the Bearwood site since 1921 where it operated as a boarding school for children with families serving in the Merchant Navy until 2012.
The charity will use the money from the sale of the site to help more beneficiaries and children achieve their academic goals.
Reading will continue to use their current training base at Hogwood Park while the Bearwood site it developed.
The new facility, designed by architects Barton Willmore, was granted planning approval by Wokingham Borough Council in April.