FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Jozy Altidore has arrived at the new U.S. Soccer National Training Center, a $250 million, 200-acre, 19-field complex south of Atlanta. It’s a far cry from where the 2014 U.S. national team recovered from practice in a cold plastic bathtub on the paved path outside Stanford University’s Kagan Stadium in California.
“This is the culmination, right?” the retired striker said on Thursday. “I definitely think this is something that past players have strived to be a part of.”
As the United States prepares to host the World Cup next month, the national team program has improved light years. Sunil Gulati, who later became president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, recalled buying a ball at Kmart on the morning of a Red and White game in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which was packed with players trying to earn a spot on the U.S. team for the 1985 FIFA Under-16 World Championship. The sprinklers went off during the game.
Facilities continued to be improved little by little. The American team made its home in advance of the 1994 World Cup in a $3.5 million, seven-acre facility that had opened the previous year in Mission Viejo, California. They switched to a training center in Chula Vista, California in 1998, then trained in Cary, North Carolina in 2002 and 2006. The team moved to Princeton in 2010 and to Stanford in 2014.
In recent years, national team practices have been held at Major League Soccer’s practice facilities. The new training center, which opened on May 7, was funded by a $50 million lead gift from the Atlanta Falcons and MLS team owner Arthur Bank. Built on a former cattle ranch about 40 miles from Atlanta, it is home to all 27 U.S. national teams.
“It’s great to have first rights to everything we want to do here,” said midfielder Tyler Adams, who will captain the U.S. team at the 2022 World Cup. “When you train at an MLS facility or something like that, it’s their facility. You’re a guest.”
There are 13 full-sized grass fields on three levels, plus two with artificial turf, two with sand for beach soccer, and two indoors. USSF will relocate its offices from Chicago to the center, which will feature 20 locker rooms, 19 meeting rooms, a 10,000-square-foot gym, and a kitchen with an adjacent dining area.
The offices are on the second floor, and some rooms overlook some of the most famous fields, including the one where World Cup teams practiced.
“I can see grass from my office. This is the first time I’ve ever been excited to see grass grow,” said USSF CEO JT Batson.
The USSF investigated examples around the world, including St. George’s Park in England and the French national team training center in Clairefontaine.
The players are staying at a hotel in nearby Trilith. The area grew rapidly after the opening of Trillis Studios, a film and television production complex where Marvel Studios films are produced.
Defender Chris Richards will remain at Crystal Palace for Wednesday’s UEFA Conference League final in Germany, arriving for the last time on Friday.
On Wednesday, players competing in the World Cup watched the under-16 women’s team practice.
“They get to watch the top teams and see how they move and how they operate, and that’s the goal of where they want to end up,” Adams said. “As a youth national team player, it would have been really special if I had the chance to get any closer to the senior team, because that’s your dream.”
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