Bristol Rovers were today training at their new base in Knowle – and will now use the impressive facility on a daily basis after finally saying farewell to the Wiltshire Army base which has been their home for the last seven years.

The Bristol Evening Post revealed nine days ago that the club would make their long-awaited move to the South Bristol Sports Centre – formerly known as the Imperial Ground – this month.

The club's youngsters had already switched to the new site and the first-team squad followed suit today.

That means Rovers are back at a training base in the city for the first time since they left their former HQ at Golden Hill during Ray Graydon's ill-fated spell in charge of the club.

Coach Paul Trollope is delighted with the switch, which had to be put on hold for two years because of problems with the pitches at the south Bristol site.

"It's fantastic for the football club. Colerne has served as a great facility for us over the last seven years and we have had some success based on our training there," said Trollope.

"But the chairman and the board have worked very hard to get us back into Bristol and the improvements that needed to take place to the pitch we will use have gone well.

"We are very pleased to be finally returning to Bristol."

The Knowle base will not only mean less travelling for the majority of Rovers' squad, but will also offer them more protection from the elements.

Although Azimghur Barracks at Colerne provided use of a massive hangar which housed a gymnasium and indoor swimming pool, the base was perched high on the Wiltshire plain and the grass pitches they used were exposed and sometimes battered by high winds. The South Bristol centre – which underwent a £3 million improvement programme a few years ago – also offers a fully-equipped gymnasium, along with treatment and changing rooms, a steam and sauna suite as well as a manager's office.

Meanwhile, Rovers are urging fans travelling to Carrow Road for the clash with Norwich City on Saturday, October 3 to snap up their tickets quickly.

The game is an all-ticket affair and Rovers have been provided with an initial allocation of 1,300. If they sell out quickly, the Pirates will be handed a further 1,000 tickets – but if they don't, that extra allocation will go to Canaries supporters.

Tickets have already gone on sale to priority group members and will go on general sale from tomorrow. They cost £22 (adults), £13 (under-21s and over-60s), £12 (under-16s) and £9 (under-12s).

As well as running their normal coach service to the game, Rovers' Supporters Club are also putting on a Football Special train which will run directly to Norwich from Bristol.

It will pick up at Weston-super-Mare, Temple Meads, Stapleton Road and Bristol Parkway and departure times are expected to be confirmed later this week. Tickets for the return train service – which features first class carriages and a buffet service – are £45 for Supporters Club members and £48 for non-members, while coach travel is priced at £24.50.

It will be the first time Bristol Rovers have played a league game at Carrow Road since 1974, when the Pirates won 1-0. Their last visit to the ground was in the League Cup five years ago when the team and some of their fans flew to East Anglia in a specially-chartered plane.