US trains for World Cup at new $250 million, 200-acre, 19-field complex south of Atlanta

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Jozy Altidore arrived at the new U.S. Soccer National Training Center, a $250 million, 200-acre, 19-field complex south of Atlanta, far different from where his 2014 American team recovered from practice in a plastic cold tub on a paved path outside Stanford’s Cagan Stadium in California.

“This is the culmination, right?” the retired striker said Thursday. “This is what I’m sure past players strived to want to be a part of.”

As the Americans prepare to host the World Cup next month, the national team programs have progressed light years. Sunil Gulati, who would later become U.S. Soccer Federation president, recalled buying balls from a Kmart on the morning of an intrasquad game at Colorado Springs, Colorado, filled with players trying to earn spots for the U.S. roster going to the 1985 FIFA Under-16 World Championship. And then sprinklers went off during the match.

Facilities kept improving ever so slightly. The Americans based ahead of the 1994 World Cup at a $3.5 million, seven-acre facility opened the previous year in Mission Viejo, California. They switched to a training center in Chula Vista, California, for 1998, then trained in Cary, North Carolina, in 2002 and 2006. The team moved to Princeton in 2010 and Stanford in 2014.

In recent years, national team practices took place at Major League Soccer training facilities. The new training center, opened May 7, was funded with a $50 million lead gift from Atlanta Falcons and MLS team owner Arthur Bank. It was built on a former cow pasture about 25 miles from Atlanta and is home to all 27 U.S. national teams.

“It's nice to have the first rights of everything that you want to do here,” said midfielder Tyler Adams, the American captain at the 2022 World Cup. “Whenever you train at an MLS facility or something like that, it’s their facility. You’re a guest.”

There are 13 full-size grass fields on three levels, two more with artificial turf, two with sand for beach soccer and two indoors. The USSF moved its office from Chicago to the center, which includes 20 locker rooms, 19 meeting rooms, a 10,000-square foot gym and a kitchen with adjacent dining area.

Offices are on the second floor, some overlooking the most prominent fields, such as the one the World Cup team trained on.

“From my office, you can see the grass. It’s the first time I’ve ever been excited to see grass grow,” USSF CEO JT Batson said.

The USSF examined examples around the world, such as England's St. Georges Park and the French national team training center at Clairefontaine.

Players are staying at a hotel in nearby Trilith. The area has grown rapidly after the opening of Trilith Studios, a movie and television production complex where Marvel Studios films are made.

Defender Chris Richards will be the last to arrive, on Friday, after remaining with Crystal Palace for the UEFA Conference League final in Germany on Wednesday.

World Cup-bound players watched the women's under-16 team train Wednesday.

“They can see the first team and how they move and how the operate and that’s the goal of where they want to end up,” Adams said. “As a youth national team player, if I could have ever had the opportunity to be even close to the senior team, that would have been really special because that’s your dream.”

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup