Wests Group has lodged plans for the $18 million Knights Centre of Excellence at Broadmeadow, revealing more details about the players' plush new home base.
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Knights chief executive officer Philip Gardner said on Thursday that the club hoped to move into the new District Park centre before the start of pre-season training on November 1 next year.
The plans submitted to City of Newcastle include a huge ground-floor gym and "wrestling zone" opening onto a full-size training ground and 40-metre running track.
The training ground will have the same orientation and high-tech surface as the Hunter Stadium pitch.
The two-storey centre of excellence building also includes a large dining and trophy hall, cafe, outdoor terrace, lap pool, sauna, theatrette, basketball half-court, players' lounge, sleep room, rehabilitation room and sports science space.
The club's head coach, assistant coach, doctor and managers of recruitment, welfare, football operations and player development will have their own offices.
Public areas will include the cafe and a large foyer selling club merchandise.
The building, designed by Newcastle firm EJE Architecture, will be clad in a perforated metal skin designed to resemble a medieval knight's chain mail armour.
Its first floor will remain vacant until the club wants to expand.
Mr Gardner said the Knights had selected the best aspects of similar training centres at NRL and AFL clubs around Australia.
"The pools and spa are very much from the Broncos, and there are other features from the other clubs," he said.
"As long as the council can get it through in a reasonable period of time, we'll be in it on the first of November, 2020, for the '21 pre-season."
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The centre, which sits on seven hectares of vacant land between the District Park tennis courts and International Hockey Centre, also includes two more full-sized, floodlit fields, a smaller playing surface, an outdoor gym and a running path.
Mr Gardner said the extra fields would be available for touch football competitions and the club's juniors and under-20 side.
Two car parks, in the south-west and north-east corners of the site, have spaces for more than 130 vehicles.
The Knights centre, jointly funded by the club and the NSW government, is part of the government's proposed Broadmeadow sports and entertainment precinct.
Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
