The New York Red Bulls Plan to Expand Training Facilities

This past year featured the introduction of the New York Red Bull's USL side, RBNY II. Along with the senior team, the Baby Bulls call East Hanover home for training. Some have mentioned that the size of the facility may not be accommodating enough however. The Red Bulls announced last year that they would do some expanding already, which seems to have been completed.

Once A Metro has learned RBNY is looking to expand the training facility to enhance overall effectiveness. There are a few options available to the team.

The first, and the easiest option, is to buy up more of the surrounding land, and build off the existing facility. This would not vastly impact the day to day, as the construction and development will be adjacent to the grounds. However, a few problems present themselves regarding land rights. Much of the land is already occupied by other enterprises, and only a bit more land is left available. Moreover, a large swath of land is protected wetlands, so by law the team cannot touch that property.

Another option is to pick an entirely new location, which could just as well be a short drive away from the main facility, where land would be more readily available. This greenfield option may be a little more time consuming. The team would need to get the necessary approvals and permits for the construction to happen. In addition, it would mean that they would have to replicate facilities like locker rooms and cardio rooms that are already available in the original East Hanover facility.

The future intentions of the team will guide their plans. If it is believed the size and scope of the MLS, USL, and additional academy teams will be largely unchanged, then a simple extension of the fields in place now would be the best idea. However, if the ambition is to really grow the academy (which is the direction hinted at by, for example, Ali Curtis indicating the club is looking seriously at a residential program), then a stand-alone facility elsewhere is the only viable, long-term solution. The plan ahead is unknown, but all signs point to an announcement in the near future. And from that announcement, we may be able glean something of the scope of Red Bull's longer term plans for RBNY.