Everton's training complex was declared fully operational on November 8, 2007.
The £14m Finch Farm development in the Halewood area of Liverpool was completed in September 2007.
David Moyes' senior squad made the permanent switch from the former Bellefield training facility to Finch Farm in October and were then joined by the Everton Academy players and staff.
It is the first time the senior squad and the entire Academy set-up has been housed in one location.
Plan of Finch Farm
The Finch Farm training complex replaced the former first-team training ground at Bellefield in West Derby and the Academy complex at Netherton.
Former Everton CEO Keith Wyness, who was at the Club for the project, said at the time of its opening: "We're proud of the facility we now have at Finch Farm. Bellefield was ground-breaking when it was developed in the 1960s but times have changed and, in this modern era, it was vitally important to ensure we had the very finest training complex for the first team.
"To also find a site big enough to house the Academy means Finch Farm is the perfect location. Being able to have the stars of tomorrow training at the same base as the current first-team squad will help improve the development of our future players and prove a major draw for potential new signings.
The first team training pitch at Finch Farm
"Everton has always been a Club intent on innovation and moving forward. Being able to now boast one of the most advanced training facilities in world football maintains that tradition and further underlines our determination to continue the great progress made on and off the field in recent seasons."
Development of the site took 150 weeks including pitch construction and landscaping. It was a massive undertaking, with 69,000 ceramic tiles, 68,000 concrete blocks, 4376 carpet tiles, 550 tins of paint, 265 tonnes of steel and 1400 cubic metres of concrete used on a building that boasts 6,410 square-metres of space for the Academy and first team to utilise.
Cllr Graham Morgan, Knowsley Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Neighbourhoods, said at the time of opening: “It is fantastic to see this state of the art facility opening in Knowsley. Everton already do a lot of good work with young people in this area and now that they have a base here, I expect that relationship will become even stronger, benefiting even more of our young sporting talent.
“Knowsley is already famous for being the home to some of football’s top professionals of the moment, including Everton’s Alan Stubbs, and we hope that this academy will help unearth local talent for the future to continue that trend for many years to come.”
State of the art gym facilities
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