Club begins significant improvements at Carrow Road and Colney
IT’S a very busy summer for Norwich City with an extensive programme of infrastructure improvements underway at Carrow Road and at our Colney Training Centre.The Club is investing in the stadium and our training facilities as we gear up for a third consecutive season competing in the Barclays Premier League.
New Premier League regulations call for significant improvements to media facilities at the ground - and as part of these work is already underway on extending the Jarrold Stand TV gantries from the existing three structures hanging from the roof to one continuous gantry extending for most of the length of the stand.
The new, much larger gantry will enable the Club to meet the increased requirements from the growing number of domestic and international broadcast media companies who have invested in the rights to cover Premier League matches for the next three years.
No supporters’ seats will be lost as a result of these works – in fact 30 more seats will be available in the area which has been previously used to house broadcast media at the rear of the Jarrold Stand.
In addition the Club will be implementing goal-line technology at Carrow Road to be employed next season and improvements will also be made to the pitch, which has experienced significant wear and tear during a very difficult winter.
Meanwhile a new system governing stadium access for supporters is being put into place, with season ticket scanners in operation for the 2013-14 campaign enabling the Club to improve matchday access.
Finally the stadium’s public address system is being overhauled to improve safety and entertainment communications with our supporters on matchdays.
Over at our Colney Training Centre, the main pitch will be replaced with the Desso surface similar to the surface at Carrow Road and will have undersoil heating also installed. Improvement work is also being done on two other pitches. These works will dramatically improve the players' ability to train consistently in all weather conditions.
Meanwhile extensive improvements are also being undertaken to the first team squad’s facilities within the main Colney building complex.
City Chief Executive David McNally commented: “It’s a very busy time for our operations team this summer as they work to put these improvements in place before the new Premier League season kicks off in August.
“The changes at Carrow Road will improve our supporters’ matchday experience and also ensure we comply fully with mandatory new league regulations concerning media facilities and access.
“The improvements to the pitches at Carrow Road and Colney will be a massive plus for the first team and the Academy, who experienced interruption to their training schedules during the winter months of late 2012 and early 2013.
“All of the works we are undertaking are part of our commitment to supporting our first team and serving our supporters.”