Scottish Premiership side Partick Thistle announced it will build a new £4M ($5M) training facility, according to Cheri Burns of the Scotland DAILY RECORD. The club agreed to a deal with the Weir family, from Ayrshire, which won £161M on the EuroMillions in '11, to create Thistle's "first ever dedicated training complex." Partick Thistle will work with Three Black Cats -- the family's company -- to design the ground. The center will then be leased to Partick Thistle on a long-term basis, giving the club its "first permanent dedicated facility" in its 141-year history. It will be used by the first team, development, academy and women's squads (DAILY RECORD, 4/11). In Glasgow, Graeme McGarry reported the Weirs "have already provided funding for the club's Thistle Weir Academy." Thistle has been splitting its time between the Garscube Sports Complex and the artificial pitch at Lesser Hampden for the last few seasons, but "will now start looking for an appropriate location" to build its permanent training base (HERALD SCOTLAND, 4/11). The BBC's Phil Goodlad reported no site "has yet been earmarked for the project." Partick Thistle Managing Dir Ian Maxwell, who "pointed out that city rivals Celtic and Rangers both already have out-of-town facilities," said, "It will be Glasgow or the Greater Glasgow area. It doesn't necessarily have to be Maryhill or anywhere near the stadium." Thistle's various squads "presently use different training facilities at locations spread around Glasgow." Thistle Chair David Beattie said it had been "a long-term ambition of the club" to house its first team, youth and women's teams in one facility. He said, "The money we currently spend on facilities around Glasgow will be used to service our lease and costs at the new ground" (BBC, 4/11).
