6 May 2007. In March 2019, Aston Villa submitted plans to the local council to expand the gymnastics and sport science areas of the main Bodymoor Heath building, as well as adding a larger match analysis room and increasing the area used for physical training eight-fold. It has been reported that the new 'performance centre' has been inspired by the facilities of the Minnesota Vikings NFL team during a pre-season tour. This followed a complete redevelopment of the Academy training ground, which included construction of a 500-seater "mini-stadium". This allowed the Under-23's, who previously played their home games at Villa Park, to play at the training ground instead. This was part of a complete relocation of the southern half of the training ground caused by land lost due to HS2. These developments were valued at over £20million overall. The development continued throughout 2020 under the supervision of new CEO Christian Purslow, but were delayed by restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. On 4 May 2021, Bodymoor Heath's new 'High Performance Centre' was officially opened by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. HS2 Impact The construction of High Speed 2 has caused significant issues for Aston Villa, as the line will pass directly through the south-east corner of Bodymoor Heath. This has caused disruption for the first team and academy. In 2018, contractors O'Brien were appointed to oversee the relocation of significant parts of Bodymoor Heath, particularly the Academy, where the line would directly cut into, in order to compensate for the land lost. All the academy pitches and two first team pitches were moved. The overall cost of the Academy project cost £14million, which was solely funded by the £14.5million compensation received from the Government. Sponsorship In April 2018, Aston Villa announced that Bodymoor Heath was to be renamed the "Recon Training Complex", after a group owned by the club's sole owner at the time, Tony Xia. Although the sponsorship was initially stated to last for 5 years, the majority purchase of Aston Villa by a partnership consisting of Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens eventually saw the sponsorship deal scrapped after just 7 months, and the old Bodymoor Heath name restored. References Sports venues in Warwickshire Aston Villa F.C. Association football training grounds in England Borough of North Warwickshire