THE WESTERN Bulldogs threw open their doors to the media on Thursday, and held a "train with the players" session before taking them on a tour of their developing new facilities.
After 20 media representatives were put through their paces on the Whitten Oval track alongside a large number of the playing list, CEO Campbell Rose took them on a guided journey through the construction side.
The players' Elite Learning Centre, which is scheduled to open in March, might only be a shell of a room at the moment, but Rose painted an impressive picture of the shape it will form once complete.
The Centre will house state-of-the-art fitness equipment, which will be electronically linked to a computer system designed to record the players' output levels.
There will also be a top-of-the-range viewing area for match reviews, a 30m running track that will extend out of the Centre and onto the oval, and a number of administration offices. The walls facing the oval will also be large “fire station” doors, which will allow the players to train indoors with an outdoor atmosphere.
Rose said the players will be treated to futuristic training facilities, in a centre built on a "bigger space than any other club has.
"We might have started behind the eight-ball, but this redevelopment will put us right there in front of it," he said.
Rose took the media on a full tour that included a trip up the scaffolding of the main building, which will house the Bulldogs' headquarters, shop, travel centre, medical centre, café and al-fresco eating area.
A running track will also be built around the Bulldogs' home, with public toilet amenities being upgraded to cater for the number of people expected to take advantage of the new facilities.
The Bulldogs' home will also feature a Childcare Hub, which will cater for 105 children when it opens its doors at the end of the year.
The players' new home, which offers a sizable increase on their previous allocated space, is sure to be impressive if the current shell of the building is anything to go by.
