Milton Keynes Dons is to develop a new training facility at the National Bowl concert arena.
The football club will develop the 49-acre site with the Milton Keynes Development Partnership.
The National Bowl has been used as an entertainment venue for 40 years. The open-air arena has a capacity of 65,000 and has hosted global acts including Queen, Michael Jackson and David Bowie.
The MK Dons will submit a planning application in the new year to create 12 football pitches, a community hub with fitness and medical facilities, classrooms, administration, and food and beverage facilities.
The MK Bowl will still be used as a music venue and will also become the cycling hub for the Milton Keynes Cycling Association.
MK Dons chairman Pete Winkelman said: “This is the biggest news for some years regarding the football club. The National Bowl is an iconic venue which has played host to some of the world’s biggest and best, and we will do all we can to respect and nurture the site.”
The development supersedes Moirai Capital Investments’s plans to deliver the UK’s largest waterpark complete with a swimming pool, indoor football pitches and cycle track. In 2013, the council selected Moirai CI as its preferred bidder but the deal fell through, making way for the expansion of the football club.
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