Brentford Football Club’s new training facility, named after former technical director Robert Rowan, was officially opened in December.
Modular building expert Portakabin has handed over an exciting new project to Brentford Football Club. The Robert Rowan Performance Centre – which is likely to be in place for up to the next five years, will enable the Club to continue to develop its plans for a new permanent performance centre. It has been named after Robert Rowan as part of the Club’s tributes to his memory after he sadly passed away in 2018.
The building was completed in partnership with Ardent Sports and Fuse Architects following a competitive tender where Portakabin stood head and shoulders above its competitors, including a traditionally built solution.
Everyone involved in this project felt a huge affinity with the aspirations of the design. The bespoke nature of the architect and the Club’s vision allowed us to really stretch ourselves from a delivery point of view. It was an intense project to work on but the team really dug deep; from our specialist groundworks contractors to our interiors team – everyone went the extra mile.
Tony Blanchard, Regional Manager for Portakabin comments: “The speed at which we moved on this job meant if you blinked, you missed a milestone – it was phenomenal. Starting on site in May and handing over in November for the official opening in December is unheard of in a project this size and scale. Buildings like this happen once in a lifetime. The openness, honestly and collaboration we were able to exercise with Ardent and the Club meant it was a success – it’s not every day you get to work in such an agile way with an exciting client such as Brentford!”
Design details down through the high specification finishes and state of the art equipment installed was carried into the layout and flow of the building. Every movement through the building emulates the Club’s end goal of excellence. There is a specialist symmetry to how the players exit the changing rooms and out onto the training pitch so it’s the same movement as when they head out to play at Gtech Community Stadium. The Under 18s facility is at the end of the corridor so that young development players get to pass by the first and B team facilities; understanding what they must achieve to make it to that level.
The bespoke roof terrace was completed with a specialist non-slip resin, poured to replicate wood so that corporate sponsors and guests can experience training sessions from the best possible viewpoint.
Our new Performance Centre, named after our former colleague and friend Robert Rowan, has vastly improved the day-to-day working conditions for our players and staff. We wanted a building that would enable us to provide our players and staff with Premier League facilities. Portakabin have delivered that.
“We had a vision of a building that would enable our players and staff to work together closely. We wanted to raise the level of what we could offer while, at the same time, maintaining the atmosphere and togetherness that has been present for many years and helped us climb the league.
“Our staff worked with a project team to create a design for the new building and Portakabin have made it a reality for us. We have seen in the faces of staff, players and visitors that this new building has changed the perception of Brentford FC and we are delighted with it.”
Tony added: “No one other than Portakabin could have delivered this building. From our resource to our expertise to our ethos – it was an outstanding example of our ‘on time, on budget’ promise for each and every one of our customers.”
