Over half an hour south of Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park, past highways and airports, through forests of pine trees and just up the road from a massive movie studio lies the boldest and strongest statement American soccer has ever made.
A New Home for American Soccer
In the past, the United States' respective national teams would train in facilities all throughout the country wherever matches were set to be played. Now, they won't have to worry about schedules or weather as the Arthur M. Blank US Soccer National Training Center has opened its doors. The $250 million, 400,000 square foot facility in suburban Georgia is not just a base for the senior men's and women's national teams but a space for all 27 national teams to co-exist and collaborate.
It's also a well-thought-out use of space where players can work with US Soccer officials and staff as the building hosts the new headquarters for the federation, taking over from the old 'Soccer House' in Chicago. The sprawling complex features state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to help players be at their best. After taking in advice from some of the best training centers in the world, America now has its own crown jewel of a complex.
The Daily Mail joined other members of the media for an exclusive look inside the facility in March to speak with executives about the process of the build, the features of the space and how it will benefit US Soccer for decades to come.
Why Atlanta?
Given the rise of soccer in Atlanta over the course of the past decade, it made sense for US Soccer to plant roots in a thriving environment. 'There's been continued growth of soccer in Atlanta,' US Soccer CEO JT Batson told the Daily Mail. 'That was absolutely a critical part of our decision to want to be here.'
Infrastructure and climate was also a key issue when the USSF conducted its nationwide search for where to build its new home. 'One of the key things is you need to be able to play soccer year-round,' Batson added. 'That eliminates a chunk of the country. And then of course, you need to be next to a major airport. So that obviously narrows things down.'
The facility is roughly 20 minutes south of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world, making it convenient for players arriving from clubs overseas and across the country alike. Atlanta also has significant financial weight in the American South, which made it easy for donors and partners to help provide needed resources like land, building materials and capital to complete the project.
Chief among them was Arthur Blank, the billionaire co-founder of The Home Depot and owner of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United of MLS. Additionally, there was aid from Dan Cathy, the CEO of fast-food giant Chick-fil-A and owner of Trilith Studios, the largest movie production facility outside of Hollywood. Trilith is within spitting distance of the training complex and the studio donated the land to the USSF to build the facility.
Facility Features
The complex itself is all at once an office space and a training facility meant to house some of the best athletes the country has to offer. When the USMNT arrives for its first training session on May 18, they'll find a facility where no expense was spared.
The facility features 17 outdoor playing surfaces, of which 13 are Bermuda grass. The showpiece is the so-called 'Superpitch' which officials claim is able to withstand an unthinkable 28 inches of rain per hour while still being playable. There's two artificial turf fields outside, but there's also a regulation-size artificial pitch indoors as well. Included among the outdoor pitches includes a show pitch for the youth national teams that is capable of hosting tournaments.
Many of the pitches are located away from the main building in something of their own mini-complex which features their own separate locker room facilities down the hill from the senior team training pitch. The walk down the hill was intentional, designed 'with the player's journey in mind' to encourage them to, literally, work their way up to the 'Superpitch.'
Indoors is a gigantic gym with equipment provided by Nike which is large enough to fit two teams at the same time. The investment into this space is intended to emulate the sportswear company's own High Performance Center in Oregon. Additionally, there's a space designed specifically to analyze and research women's sports which is being backed by Olympique Lyon, Washington Spirit and London City Lionesses owner Michele Kang.
But there's also facilities designed for the other national teams as well. All of them will be together under one roof where all their needs will be met. US Soccer built what they call the 'gold standard' facility for powerchair soccer. The indoor facility, which will also be a home for the futsal national teams, was designed to be ADA compliant with elevators to a viewing balcony and a room specifically built to charge the electric wheelchairs the athletes compete on. There's also a pair of outdoor pitches for beach soccer to add to the welcoming atmosphere.
At the center of it all is a cafeteria that greets players and staff as they walk in through the front entrance, which was designed intentionally after feedback from other teams around the globe. US Soccer officials said they traveled to some of the grandest training facilities in the world to not only glean ideas, but also get feedback on what those teams wished they had in their complexes.
Before he departed to helm the Saudi Arabian football federation, Matt Crocker told Daily Mail that the tours included Tottenham's training ground at Enfield and Leicester City's Seagrave facility. Additionally, tours led them to the DFB Campus in Frankfurt, France's Clairfontaine and England's St George's Park. Each facility gave US Soccer another thing to consider. Crocker told Daily Mail that at St George's Park, a lack of locker rooms was a noted sore spot. So, the US Soccer NTC features 16 locker rooms spread throughout the complex.
'This is a facility that houses all of our 27 teams,' Crocker told reporters in March. 'The needs of our under-15s is very different from the needs of our power team, that is different from the needs of our senior men's or our senior women's. So we tried to, where we could, take as much input as we possibly can, which ultimately has put us in a position of as many flexible spaces that can provide what individual teams need the best.'
Looking Ahead
The United States will use this facility for the first time before a pair of friendlies against Senegal and Germany as the warm-up to the World Cup. While soccer in the US is set to have a major moment for this summer's tournament, investments in facilities like these ensure the sport's popularity is not a passing fad. With the proper resources and spaces in place, US Soccer now has a spot where the entire federation can thrive for decades to come.
