Trafford Training Centre

Trafford Training Centre (usually referred to by the synecdoche of Carrington) is the training ground and academy headquarters of English football club Manchester United. It is near the village of Carrington, Greater Manchester, England, and replaced The Cliff as the club's training ground in 2000. Construction on the complex began in 1999, with the first team taking up residence of the completed main building in 2000, followed in 2002 by the Academy facility — home to the club's youth system. In 2013, major additions were completed at the complex, including a medical centre and sports science department. Towards the end of the 1990s, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson increasingly felt that the club's training ground at The Cliff — which had been in continuous use since 1938 — would prove incapable of meeting the competitive requirements of the Premier League as it entered the 21st century. Ferguson was also unhappy about the lack of privacy at The Cliff, with journalists present on a daily basis, opposition team scouts able to watch training sessions, and supporters asking for autographs and photographs with players. The club's board set about finding a new location for their training ground, and purchased more than 100 acres of secluded land in Carrington – less than 10 miles (16 km) from Old Trafford stadium. Construction began in 1999, with a budget of £22 million, of which £14 million was spent on the Main Building (first team) which opened in the summer of 2000, and a further £8 million spent on the Academy Facility, opening in the summer of 2002. A new £25 million medical and sports science facility was constructed on the grounds in 2013. This brought the total cost of construction to over £60 million. Approximately 300 people work at Carrington on a daily basis. On 8 August 2025, the club officially inaugurated the enhanced Trafford Training Centre, featuring major improvements in medical, sports science, and academy facilities. The £50 million upgrade was initiated by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and took 12 months to complete, being delivered “on time and within budget.”