A STATE-of-the-art 3G pitch has been officially opened at Warrington Wolves Padgate training ground.

The club has invested £500,000 in the artificial indoor pitch which will let the players train in rain, snow or ice and means they are the first Super League club to benefit from such a facility.

The opening, on Tuesday, was attended by past, present and academy players as well as the chief executive Roger Draper and chairman, Prof Steven Broomhead.

He said: “This is a celebration of the past, the future and indeed the present.

"The new training facility is a half a million pound investment by the club that demonstrates our commitment to improving player performance and development.

“Rain, frost or snow we can train all year round in this excellent facility.

"We have probably now got the best training facilities in Super League and the club is making sure we have a system of continuous improvement both on and off the pitch."

The facility has been open for a few weeks for the first team and academy players have been taking advantage of being able to train whatever the weather.

Captain Joel Monaghan said: “It has made a real difference to our training. The first week we used it, it snowed for three days out of the week so it is definitely an advantage that most clubs don’t have.

“From where we have come from to the facilities we have now is a credit to the club, the town, all the directors and the owners.

“It is a proud day for the club and one we are very lucky to be involved in.”

Warrington Guardian:

The ribbon was cut by former player and coach Alex Murphy.

He said: “The new facility is absolutely magnificent – it is like dying and going to heaven.

“It is super when you think you can come inside and do all the training that is required, it is like being outside, it is absolutely beautiful.”

Harvey Livett, aged 18, who plays for the under 19s academy team, said: “It has made a massive difference to our training.

"The weather has been really cold outside and raining so we can come in here and do the same stuff we can do outside so it has made a big difference.”