SWR: Chapter 937/938

Chapter 937: Super! Super! Super!

As everyone knows, whether it is a stadium or a training ground, the emphasis has always been on functionality, with little attention given to design.

Even for stadiums that cost huge amounts of money, the focus is often only on the outer shell, so most stadium designs are handed over to professional firms like Populous.

But in recent years, more and more famous designers have begun to enter the football world. Several stadiums carefully designed by Herzog & de Meuron, such as the Bird's Nest and the Allianz Arena, have made them internationally renowned.

Norman Foster was involved in the design of Wembley Stadium.

The design of Leeds United's training base is undoubtedly a pioneering concept.

During a long conversation with Norman Foster last time, Gao Shen mentioned his ideas for Leeds United's training base. Later, Norman Foster arranged for his team to gain a deeper understanding of Leeds United, and even placed a designer to live and work at the Thorp Arch training base.

This time, the proposal they presented was very innovative.

Leeds United's site is an irregular rectangle, 800 meters long from north to south and 300 meters wide from east to west, but due to roads and residential areas, the land narrows at both the north and south ends.

Based on these site conditions, Norman Foster and his team came up with a concept: floating islands.

For functional venues like training bases, the starting point is always the football pitches.

To meet the needs of Leeds United, from the first team to the youth academy, 13 standard outdoor pitches are required. These pitches will be given priority and spread across the entire site.

A multifunctional building integrating the club's administrative offices, big data center, restaurant, and underground parking will be the face of the training base, but it will be completely different from traditional designs.

This three-story low-rise building is divided into two sections by a central atrium and connected by a six-meter-wide floating island. The semi-open office spaces, created using large glass curtain walls, are completely integrated into the surrounding landscape, strengthening the connection between indoor spaces and the natural environment.

The building's roof extends over the atrium, with a huge skylight directly above, allowing natural light to flood into the atrium and the interior, making the entire space exceptionally bright.

According to Norman Foster, this semi-open office design will effectively improve the work environment and ensure the physical and mental well-being of employees. At the same time, the atrium and floating islands will create strong social spaces, blurring the boundaries between interior and exterior, and promoting a new way of collaboration.

This is all about connection and integration.

Moreover, the floating island design is particularly interesting. It is not a simple staircase, but an interlocking ring structure. Norman Foster said it was inspired by the arcs in a football game. The steel structure acts as both an arch and a truss. Even as a hand-drawn sketch, it looks elegant and serves as both a walkway and a viewing platform.

The atrium extends to the north and south of the training base, linking to the first-team and youth-team training buildings. These three buildings are further connected by longer and larger floating islands, with the longest nearly 100 meters in length.

From a distance, it looks like arcs suspended in the air.

The space beneath the floating islands is carefully designed and divided into sections of different shapes and sizes based on pedestrian flow, sightlines, scenery, and functional needs. These include basketball courts, volleyball courts, mini football pitches, beach courts, fountain squares, terraces, and other leisure activity spaces.

They appear separate, but in reality, they are closely linked.

Norman Foster's team believes that this area will be very popular with both first-team and youth players. The flow of people created by the design will allow them to organize various small competitions and social events here, achieving true integration between the senior and youth players.

The two training buildings are long, irregular structures arranged around the pitches wherever possible. Inside, there will be medical rooms, gyms, swimming pools, saunas, and other facilities, designed with great care.

The second and third floors of the first-team training building will house dormitories for staff and players. These will be designed as suites, each with an independent balcony. The rooms will be spacious, bright, and arranged to five-star hotel standards.

It is worth mentioning that the indoor pitch will be a full-sized standard football field, with a roof made of ETFE membrane material. This translucent material lets sunlight in while blocking harmful external factors. Even during blizzards, training will continue as normal.

The biggest challenge of an indoor pitch is ventilation, which has also been carefully addressed.

All 14 pitches will have advanced underfloor heating and drainage systems.

In the north of the training base, Norman Foster initially designed a competition field for youth matches. However, after receiving a call from Lucas, the design team modified the plan.

They proposed integrating the pitch with the municipal park outside, creating open steps at the junction with the Railway Bridge Park to serve as spectator seating and a resting area for park visitors, encouraging more citizens to watch Leeds United's youth training and matches.

At the same time, this area will be designed to be an attractive park landscape.

In addition, the roof of the training center will be equipped with a complete solar energy system, provided by Leeds United's Chinese sponsor. The electricity generated by the solar panels will be used directly at the base.

Huawei will also participate in designing the various smart systems for the training base.

Once completed, it will be the most advanced, intelligent, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly modern training base in the UK, Europe, and possibly the world.

The cooperation plan between Leeds United and the city government also includes a ten-year Children's Fund.

Leeds United has pledged to donate over three million pounds to the city of Leeds over the next ten years, specifically for children's health, education, social inclusion, disability support, and sports development. The club will also organize a series of social programs in schools, communities, and hospitals.

The Children's Fund will also be open to attract more public and private contributions.

In Europe, almost all clubs are expected to take on such social responsibilities, and Leeds United is no exception. However, the White Rose's plan is currently the largest of its kind in the UK, reflecting the club's determination to give back to its fans and the community.

The club also hopes this commitment will help secure government approval when selecting contractors for construction.

According to projections, choosing a Chinese construction company could reduce costs by at least 20 percent.

…

Whether it was Norman Foster's design or Leeds United's funding and community program, Zidane and Carlo were full of praise.

This is exactly what is needed to gain a firm foothold in European football.

It also shows that Gao Shen really intends to run Leeds United for the long term.

Norman Foster's design is of his usual top standard, whether in terms of technique, style, materials, or the technology incorporated. Everything is at the highest level currently available.

This is characteristic of Norman Foster.

However, the cost is also extremely high.

According to discussions between Norman Foster's team, Lucas, and others, the entire project's budget will definitely be exceeded, and by a lot.

"How much more?" Su Qing, in charge of finances, was most concerned about the budget.

Lucas immediately looked at Norman Foster.

The veteran designer himself looked a little embarrassed. "It is estimated at 80 million pounds."

Everyone was a bit shocked.

Isn't that too much?

You know how much Wenger spent building Arsenal's Colney training ground.

Tottenham Hotspur just built a training base in Enfield with a small indoor pitch, and their total investment was only a little over 40 million pounds. Leeds United is now looking at nearly double that.

Sure enough, budgets exist to be exceeded.

"Of course, if the budget overruns too much, we can make adjustments, such as reducing the size of the indoor pitch, which would save a significant amount, as well as revising the stadium in the north and some landscape features..."

As the second party, Norman Foster's team was not domineering at all and was very considerate of the client.

After all, Leeds United is the one paying.

Now everyone, including Su Qing and Lucas, looked straight at Gao Shen.

The completed design was fascinating. Although it was just a hand-drawn sketch, it outlined a wonderful vision. Once built, it would surely become one of the world's best training bases.

It would even amaze fans around the globe.

As everyone looked at him, Gao Shen was thinking about something else entirely.

"Fernando, tell me, if we build a training base like this, a master's work, could we attract sponsors? How much could we get for naming rights?"

Everyone was stunned.

Title sponsorship for a training base?

Could that work?

"Last year Manchester United considered sponsorship for their Carrington training base. Didn't they sell sponsorship for their training kits at 10 million pounds? So they wanted to capitalize on that by getting sponsorship for the base itself, also for 10 million pounds."

Lucas shrugged. "But no one showed any interest."

Manchester United's so-called 10 million-pound training kit sponsorship was not just about wearing those kits at the base but also wearing them during warm-up sessions before matches, sponsored by DHL logistics.

That's why they could get such a high sponsorship fee.

And no matter how you look at it, that's a great deal.

But what can you do? They are Manchester United.

There is only one Manchester United in the world. You can't envy them.

"But what's so special about sponsoring Manchester United's run-down training ground? Ours is different." Gao Shen felt that what Manchester United failed to do, Leeds United might be able to achieve.

Manchester United wants 10 million pounds, and Leeds United does not need that much.

If they can secure a naming rights deal, that would be a huge benefit.

Lucas thought about it and felt it was worth a try. After all, as Gao Shen said, this would be a unique marketing point.

Leeds United now has considerable global online attention.

From the start of construction to completion, the project will undoubtedly attract global attention, which would also greatly benefit a title sponsor.

"We'll make some arrangements later." The more Lucas thought about it, the more he believed it was possible.

Even Norman Foster and the others were left speechless.

Is this sharp-minded guy really one of the world's top coaches?

(To be continued.)

Chapter 938: Don’t Sell People Out!

As a typical Virgo, Gao Shen has always been very particular.

In his previous life, when he was just an office worker, while the colleagues who bought houses together were still satisfied with the free decoration schemes offered by renovation companies and homeowners' groups, he was willing to spend tens of thousands to hire a professional designer to build a dream home for himself.

Not only that, he did not trust decoration companies, so he personally found a reliable craftsman and oversaw the progress of the entire renovation.

What was interesting was that all his effort ended up astonishing a neighbor who happened to visit. The neighbor took a picture and posted it in the owners' group. It sparked heated discussions. Many people liked it, but more people disliked it.

The reason was simple. Some felt it was not worth spending so much money and energy on a minimalist wooden style.

Gao Shen never took part in these arguments, nor did he ever bother defending himself, because he knew that aesthetics is a subjective matter. It depends entirely on personal taste. As long as he liked it, that was enough.

Just like now.

Norman Foster was very pleased with this design, even if it was still only a hand-drawn concept.

The budget was higher than other teams. That was normal.

Not to mention, Norman Foster's design fees are much higher than those of ordinary design firms.

There is no need to worry about these things too much.

Can Leeds United afford this?

The answer is: absolutely.

So Gao Shen made the decision on the spot. Let's do it!

At the same time, Fernando Lucas will focus on commercial partnerships in the coming period, hoping to secure a naming sponsorship deal that can significantly ease the club's financial pressure.

Leeds United is a popular sports brand. With the strong alliance between Gao Shen and Norman Foster, how many such opportunities are there in the world?

Gao Shen believes that there will always be people who know value when they see it.

Even if no one does, then he will simply enjoy it himself behind closed doors.

…

After discussing with Norman Foster's team, the design of the training base entered its next stage.

Leeds United also needs to prepare to pay the next installment, but this is not a big problem for the club, because the income from the summer transfers has been coming in steadily.

After returning to Leeds from London, Gao Shen made a special trip to the Thorp Arch training base to meet with department heads and staff.

Gao Shen was very satisfied with the team's current performance and encouraged everyone to keep working hard.

The team's results were good, and everyone was happy, but the pressure on the club's management had also increased.

It is like the saying: reaching a Champions League final, or even winning the Champions League, is not necessarily a blessing.

The right approach is to wear a hat that fits your head.

Now, Leeds United is wearing a very big hat.

Gao Shen made a request to Lucas: the club's commercial operations must be accelerated.

As the team's performance improves, income must also keep up. Only in this way can players be retained. Otherwise, by next summer, players will inevitably be sold.

Renewals?

Without sufficient revenue, renewing contracts will suddenly increase the wage bill. If the team's results then decline and income drops, the financial hit will be severe.

There are many examples of this, such as Everton.

The reason this team has not been able to progress much so far is because they pushed too hard to break into the Champions League.

In comparison, Tottenham Hotspur has been far more pragmatic, climbing step by step and building a solid foundation.

"In fact, there's no need to wait until next year. This coming winter we'll already have to deal with it," Lucas said with a wry smile.

"What's going on?" Gao Shen looked at him, confused.

"Do you know that we have only conceded three goals in the Premier League so far? Do you know what that means?"

"Manchester City have conceded four and are second in the table. Stoke City have conceded five and are 13th. Manchester United, third, have conceded nine. Chelsea, top of the table, have conceded seven."

"Chelsea contacted us two days ago to ask about the possibility of signing Koulibaly in the winter transfer window."

After Lucas finished speaking, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. "Pogba, Icardi, Kurzawa and others are all attracting a lot of attention now. Everyone sees us as a piece of fat meat."

Gao Shen, Zidane, Carlo and the others couldn't help laughing.

They could easily imagine how difficult Lucas's position was, being stuck in the middle.

Leeds United's way of surviving has been to sell players. But frankly, if this continues, the pressure on the club's executives will be enormous.

Especially once results drop, the problems become very serious.

But it is truly amazing that no matter how many players Leeds United sells, there is always someone ready to step up and replace them.

For example, after Courtois moved to Real Madrid, Navas has performed very well this season.

This Costa Rican goalkeeper was completely unknown before this season, but now he has started to shine and has produced several stunning saves.

Pogba was outstanding last season. After Paulinho left, he has carried the midfield this season and performed even better. The key is that even the substitute, Kondogbia, has repeatedly performed excellently.

By contrast, Allan and Jorginho are somewhat overshadowed. While they are widely recognized, they are not as eye-catching.

This is normal, as attacking players always attract more attention.

Gao Shen understood why other clubs were targeting Leeds United. After all, Leeds United's players are young and strong, so naturally they are in demand. However, he still reminded Lucas.

"Don't sell players during the winter break."

"I know. The team needs stability now. Even if the first half of the season has gone well, the second half will be more difficult. I am doing my best to calm down the players and their agents. I don't want to sell players in the winter transfer window."

"No, no, that's only part of it. The main issue is the World Youth Championship in Türkiye next summer."

Lucas and Borrell exchanged glances and laughed. "You and I are thinking the same thing."

Leeds United is mainly made up of young players, and many of them are at the right age for the World Youth Championship, including players from England, Egypt, Croatia, and France. Spain, on the other hand, the favorites for the tournament, currently has no Leeds United players.

Bellerin, born in 1995, is too young to catch this edition.

But as for England and France, both youth national teams feature Leeds United players, including Harry Kane, Maguire, Pogba, Kurzawa, Koulibaly, and Kondogbia, all of whom are main players.

The French media have previously reported that half of France's youth team comes from Leeds United.

Judging from the current situation, Spain is the favorite, but France cannot be ruled out.

As long as these Leeds United players perform well at the World Youth Championship, their value will definitely rise further. At that time, their market value will soar, especially since expectations for young players are already high.

"There are reports that Paris Saint-Germain is following the World Youth Championship and the French youth team closely." Borrell reported.

Just like Premier League clubs need homegrown players, Paris Saint-Germain also needs a group of top French players. From the current perspective, as long as these players perform well, PSG will definitely make a move.

For Leeds United, it doesn't matter who they sell to.

But it makes no sense to sell players during the winter break.

If they wait until the end of the season, given the age of these players, their value will not decrease in the short term unless there is a serious injury. If they perform well at the World Youth Championship, their value will skyrocket.

Of course, this depends on the specific situation.

For example, in the 2005 and 2007 World Youth Championships, both Messi and Aguero performed brilliantly. Many talented young players emerged in those two tournaments, and their market value rose sharply.

In 2009, the World Youth Championship was held in Egypt, and in 2011 in Colombia. The best players of those tournaments were Adiyiah of champions Ghana and Henrique Almeida of Brazil.

Among them, after Adiyiah joined AC Milan, he never got any opportunities and soon became anonymous.

Henrique Almeida, who won the best player and top scorer awards last time, almost moved to Queens Park Rangers after the World Youth Championship, but due to work permit restrictions, he remained in Brazil.

Both Lucas and Borrell are very confident in Leeds United's young players, especially Pogba, Salah, and Brozovic. Their strength is undeniable and they have already played in the Premier League.

So as long as they perform at the World Youth Championship, their value will rise.

In this case, how foolish would Leeds United be to sell players during the winter break?

Gao Shen actually knows more than they do, because in his previous life, France won the World Youth Championship and Pogba was named the tournament's best player, which made him famous.

Now, Pogba has had an earlier start than in his previous life, and he is improving faster and stronger. In this case, with Kurzawa, Kondogbia, Koulibaly and others in the same team, the current French youth team is worth looking forward to.

No matter what, their value will definitely rise.

"Don't worry. I've already talked with the players and their agents. A winter transfer is also risky for them, especially now that they are in a period of rapid development. If the transfer is not ideal, it could easily disrupt their progress."

Borrell wanted to keep these players at the club from the perspective of their career development.

At least not during the winter break!

Gao Shen also breathed a sigh of relief, proving that his two senior executives were becoming more and more reliable, and he could feel reassured.

…

After that, they talked about some other matters, mainly related to club management and preparation for the construction of the training base.

Fernando Lucas plans to travel to China soon. Su Qing cannot accompany him this time, but she has entrusted some classmates and friends in China to help with connections. Currently, the largest state-owned construction contractor in the country is also very interested in working with Leeds United.

For domestic contractors, such cooperation can quickly boost their brand in Europe, create better conditions for expanding business, and help Leeds United save money.

But many things are still under negotiation, and Lucas needs to travel to China for the next round of talks.

Gao Shen, along with Su Qing, Zidane and Carlo, stayed in Leeds for a day, then returned to Cheshire for a night to meet some old friends.

Just as they were preparing to head back to Madrid, they suddenly received bad news.

(To be continued.)