Penrith panthers: Manchester city £380m and facility use not a criteria.Panthers Management may choose this location
This is the unbelievable view of Manchester City’s $380 million training facility, complete with 16 football fields – including an indoor pitch – that the Penrith Panthers will call home next month.
Phil Gould was proud to throw open the doors to the Panthers’ $22 million academy in 2016, and it remains one of the best training facilities in the NRL.
But you can only imagine what coach Ivan Cleary, son and halfback Nathan and his Panthers teammates will be thinking when they set foot on the hallowed turf used by the Premier League and European champions.
This masthead can reveal City have rolled out the sky blue welcome mat for the Panthers as they chase their first World Club Challenge triumph on English soil.
The Panthers will be guests of City when they take on Chelsea at Etihad Stadium on February 17 (February 18 AEDT), before training on an indoor pitch 48 hours later. They will also be given access to City’s gym, pool and massage rooms.
There have also been discussions about a couple of senior Panthers being interviewed on the club’s CityTV during the game-day coverage.
Cleary’s partner Mary Fowler plays for City, but the popular Matildas player had nothing to do with the Panthers’ training deal.
Fowler will be in Australia for an Olympic qualifier against Uzbekistan when Cleary, a passionate Manchester United fan, and the Panthers clash with Super League champions Wigan on February 24.
Panthers officials said the fact they were chasing a fourth straight title was a big reason City, who are also in hot pursuit of a fourth consecutive Premier League crown, opened up their campus for the first time to an NRL club.
The Panthers are taking the clash at the DW Stadium on Saturday February 24 incredibly seriously following their narrow Golden Point defeat to St Helens in Australia this time last year.
Penrith, who have won the last three NRL Grand Finals, will be guests of City when they take on Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on February 17, before the Mountain Men train on an indoor pitch 48 hours later. City’s gym, pool and massage rooms will all be available also, the Sydney Morning Herald has revealed.
The arrangements are likely to be finalised this weekend when Penrith’s football manager Jason Wrigley makes the trip to the UK.
“We’re incredibly appreciative of what Manchester City have offered us, the World Club Challenge is important to the club, but the chance for the playing group to go overseas and experience the City campus will be enormous,” Penrith chief executive Matt Cameron said.
“The club’s success [in] the last three years has helped with brand awareness, and you can only imagine what linking with a club like City will do for us