It’s not quite the cost of St. George’s Park (yet), but Sporting Club’s plans for a new US Soccer training center in Kansas City are even more fuel for the goals of Jurgen Klinsmann and Sunil Gulati.
It’s expected to cost upwards of $75 million and expected to host the National Training and Coaching Development Center, with backing and support from USSF president Gulati, the KC business community and Kansas governor Sam Brownback.
Calling it “equivalent to bringing another sports franchise here“, Sporting Club CEO Robb Heinemann praised their plan (Sporting Club is the company that owns MLS club Sporting KC).
The $75 million-plus soccer village will provide a world-class environment to develop players, coaches and referees of all ages. The state-of-the-art facility will include approximately 100,000 square feet for an indoor facility with a practice field, eight lighted professional smart fields and eight youth fields.
Additional amenities will include a climate-controlled indoor pavilion and specialized facilities tailored toward strength and nutrition, hydration, sports science, health and wellness, video and analytics. The complex will also feature a 125-room full-service hotel.
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The development is expected to have an economic impact exceeding $1 billion on the state of Kansas. The facility will house a variety of US national team training camps and bring opportunities for Sporting Park to host matches for the men’s and women’s national teams at the youth and senior levels. The complex will also feature referee and coach education sessions, and many additional US Soccer events.
US Soccer’s current National Training Center is located in Carson, Calif., in the StubHub Center complex.
Perhaps the main advantage of the proposed new location would be easing one of the country’s most difficult burdens: the sheer distance of travel for players, coaches and executives across a giant country. And in the battle for a World Cup title, every bit helps… and this is more than a bit.
[RELATED: The wonder of St. George’s Park and what the US can learn from it]