Football college bosses reaffirm their commitment to Burnley
8:28am Saturday 9th March 2013 in News
BOSSES at football business college UCFB have re-affirmed their commitment to Burnley following the announcement of a second campus opening at Wembley Stadium.
UCFB will open a campus at the national stadium in September 2014 which will eventually accommodate an extra 2,000 students.
Despite the new London campus Philip Wilson, chief executive and Provost at UCFB, said they would be in Burnley for the long-term.
He sad: “The town of Burnley has taken us to their hearts which is fantastic.
“We have created jobs at UCFB as well as redeveloping the Sparrowhawk and Crown Hotel [formerly the Keirby Hotel] for student accommodation.
“They were two iconic buildings that were becoming an eyesore that we have managed to bring back to life.
“We have a 10-year deal for both of these buildings which shows our commitment to Burnley and how far in advance we are looking.”
Mr Wilson said UCFB had been a huge boost to the economy of Burnley since opening in September 2010.
He said: “There are 300 students from UCFB in Burnley during the academic year probably spending £4,000 to £5,000 a year.
“In total I would say UCFB has been worth about £2million a year to the local economy.
“We also try and use local products and local companies, and we recently had 50,000 new prospectuses printed by a local company.
“There is no doubt that UCFB has been a great success in Burnley, and that things are looking up in the town.
“We have a great relationship with the football club, and I would estimate that the club make more from UCFB than they do from sponsorship.
“All our students get season tickets at Turf Moor and when you include rent and catering and things like that I would say we bring in around £500,000 a year to the club.”
