Proposals for a major £50 million investment into Compton Park have today been announced, which will see the education, sport and community benefits spread throughout Wolverhampton. This unique proposal would result in over 150 direct construction jobs being created, plus an additional 250 indirect jobs in the supply chain.

The carefully co-ordinated plans have been prompted by the decision of the University of Wolverhampton to vacate its Compton Park Campus. This has led to a unique collaboration between some of the main partners on Compton Park: University of Wolverhampton, St Edmund’s Catholic School, the Archdiocese of Birmingham, and Wolverhampton Wanderers (‘Wolves’) Football Club, together with Redrow Homes.

The proposals will result in:

• St Edmund’s Catholic School relocating onto the former University of Wolverhampton campus, in part-refurbished, part-new buildings delivering significantly enhanced facilities than their existing plans through Building Schools for the Future (BSF).
• Wolves building a new indoor pitch on the vacated St Edmund’s Catholic School site, improving existing pitches and creating an FA Premier League ‘Category 1’ Football Academy, complying with the new Academy accreditation system. Wolves’ aim is to create a world-class facility, giving talented local youngsters the best possible chance to progress, along with providing some community access.
• The University of Wolverhampton re-investing in a new multi-million pound proposed Science facility on its City Centre Campus.
• Wolves donating its £1 million Indoor Academy Arena at Aldersley Leisure Village to Wolves Community Trust, which will assist the independent charity in positively impacting thousands of young, disadvantaged and disabled people across Wolverhampton.
• 55 new four-and five-bed executive homes to be built by Redrow Homes on the remainder of the University’s land, providing a large part of the enabling funding necessary to make the proposals happen.

Financing for the development is already in place and the proposals have been welcomed by the Wolverhampton Building Schools for the Future programme.

Steve Morgan, Chairman of Wolves and speaking at a joint press conference at St Edmund’s Catholic School, “This unique proposal has huge benefits for the City of Wolverhampton. It is almost unheard of to see so many parties from the public and private sector collaborating so well together for the benefit of all.”

Wolves to create 50 Permanent Jobs and an extra 300 casual match day staff.

Wolves’ decision to proceed with Stadium Redevelopment has been welcomed by a number of local businesses and figureheads as a great economic boost to the City of Wolverhampton.

Up to 200 people will be working on the construction over the course of the development and up to half of the sub-contractors could be from the West Midlands area.

Once the full three-phase development is completed, Wolves expect to create 50 permanent jobs (40 full-time and 10 part-time) and nearly 300 additional match day casual staff.

Currently Wolves employs 300 permanent staff (this includes playing staff) and nearly 500 casual match day workers, making it one of the largest private employers in Wolverhampton.

On completion of the three phase development, nearly 800,000 people a year could be visiting Molineux and Wolverhampton either on a match day or visiting the Club’s new Museum, Retail Megastore or Conference & Banqueting facilities during the week.

Steve Morgan, Chairman, Wolves, said: “The redevelopment of Molineux will provide a much-needed economic shot in the arm for the City. I’d like to thank everyone at the Club and our partners, in particular Wolverhampton City Council and Wolverhampton University, for their ongoing support in helping us get this far.

"There is still a lot of hard work to be done and we will continue to require the support of the Council and other stakeholders."

To keep up-to-date with the Stadium Redevelopment project, visit: www.molineuxpride.co.uk

Main Contractor appointed with a strong track record in sport.

Wolves have appointed Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd as Main Contractor for Phase One of its ambitious redevelopment of Molineux, starting with the demolition and replacement of the Stan Cullis (North) Stand. The Contractor will be responsible for the £16 million project and will be working closely with Club officials to deliver a leading facility.

Jez Moxey, Chief Executive, Wolves, said: “We are delighted to be appointing Buckingham Group as the Main Contractor for this project. We undertook a rigorous tender and interview process to secure the most suitable Main Contractor, who not only has a track record and experience to deliver a facility which we can all be proud of, but one who has done so on time and within budget.

“I’d like to thank everyone who participated in the tender process. It was a very strong field packed full of first class expertise.

“I’d also like to pay early thanks to our project managers, Drivers Jonas Deloitte, our Architects, AFL, and all the companies who make up our professional team. The expertise and dedication of these companies and their staff has been invaluable in getting us this far, but the hard work starts now!”

Chairman speaks about exciting and historic new chapter for Club and City

Wolves’ Chairman, Steve Morgan, has today given the green light for the first step in the Club’s Molineux redevelopment plans to begin at the end of this Season. He spoke passionately about his desire for Wolves to take a ‘brave and decisive leap forward’ in order to compete at the highest level.

The Chairman also outlined his hope that Molineux’s transformation into an iconic, yet modern, landmark would be a ‘source of pride and excitement’ for supporters and the local community alike and at the same time, provide an ‘economic shot in the arm’ for the City of Wolverhampton. However, he once again emphasised that the Club’s focus will remain on the first team, with ‘investment into our talented young Squad’ a continued priority alongside the redevelopment.

Phase One will begin with the demolition of the Stan Cullis (North) Stand in May 2011. An all new two-tier stand that extends into the north east open corner will be constructed. Once completed, Molineux’s capacity will rise from around 29,000 to approximately 31,700. The Stand is scheduled to be completed in time for the start of the 2012/2013 Season.

Away supporters will be permanently based in the north east quadrant. This is great news for fans in the Jack Harris Flank, who will no longer need to relocate to accommodate visiting fans.

Included in the redevelopment will be a new Club Megastore, Museum, Café, a Family Information Centre, impressive pitch facing hospitality facilities (including a 500 plus capacity room, which can be adapted for different events) and a larger accessible lounge for disabled supporters.

In announcing today’s news, Steve Morgan said: “The aim is to drive the Club forwards at all levels and to ensure we put our team in the best possible position to compete at the highest level. To do that, we need the best possible facilities at Molineux. New facilities, better seats, much wider concourses and increased catering offerings will also give our fans a great match day - and non-match day – experience of visiting Molineux and supporting the team.”

The winners of the 2010 Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards were revealed last night at a gala awards ceremony held at Carden Park Hotel, Chester. The Awards were open to charities, social enterprises, businesses and entrepreneurs from Merseyside, Cheshire, Shropshire, North Wales and the Wolverhampton area.

The winners and runners-up in the six categories won a total of £110k in cash prizes, as well as a package of professional services including free banking advice from the main sponsor Barclays.

The £20,000 first prize in the Best New Business category went to Leaf Tea Shop & Bar in Liverpool, owned by Natalie Haywood. Kris McDonald, who established Keyhole Productions, Liverpool won the title of Best Young Entrepreneur and £10,000 for his business. The Best Entrepreneurial Charity or Social Enterprise first prize of £12,500 was scooped by Elixir Foundations CIC. The winner of the Best Entrepreneurial Charity or Social Enterprise in Liverpool category, sponsored by Liverpool Vision and with a prize of £10,000, was The Reader Organisation. Wolverhampton-based Access to Business won the top prize of £12,500 in the Best Business Providing Social and/or Economic Contribution category.

The Against All Odds category was the emotional climax of the evening, with a prize of £10,000 awarded to the person or organisation that had overcome the biggest obstacles on their path to success. All the finalists were outstanding, but the judges were bowled over by the pragmatic business skills coupled with the vitality and zest for life shown by the winner, Debbie Stone of Blow Hair and Beauty, Widnes, Cheshire.

Steve Morgan, the founder of the Morgan Foundation, said: “This is the fourth year of the Awards and each time they have got bigger and better; 2010 is no exception. We had more entries than ever before and the finalists were of the highest quality. Inspirational, ambitious, passionate and sheer bloody-minded are just a few of the words the judges used to describe them. Judging was very difficult and in many cases it was the smallest of margins separating the winners and runners-up.”