That's nice, but they could of had something like this for much cheaper. https://www.google.com/maps/place/7...5b18a37d2330aa!8m2!3d41.7623324!4d-87.8008085
Where we at with this now, Don & Goodsie? 'Cause things actually looked worse 2 years later. Actually, they have put up different screens along the fence - you know the ones with players pix and stuff, which is cool. Though I wasn't feeling the "PRIDE" 'cause I couldn't quite read the whole word, tattered and blowing in the wind as it was.
Anyone have the video tour or many pix of the Minnesota United Training Center at NSC? Heath was bragging about it, but I can't find much of anything on their site. Who else are we missing on this thread?
FWIW, the Crew organization is still working toward a dramatic upgrade of its training facility, but it's not there yet, and there are still some questions surrounding the effort. When new ownership took over a year ago, the overall downtown stadium deal package included a re-purposing of the existing Mapfre site, making it into a combined training center for the Crew and new recreation center for the community. It was a nice initial idea, in that it promised to retain Mapfre (to which we have a certain emotional connection, of course) so that it could continue to be used as a stadium, with team offices and a training facility built into the west side of the current structure and Crew-dedicated training fields beyond that; and it would create a large rec center with community soccer fields, indoor BB courts, etc. that would fill a gap in Columbus, plus possibly allow the city to complete for large soccer tournaments that, currently, we don't have the facilities to accommodate. Since then, while the new stadium has broken ground, the Mapfre part of the project hasn't made much progress. In part, this is due to the Crew needing to use the stadium in 2020 and perhaps for a few games in early 2021, until the new stadium opens in July 202; I mean, there's only so much work that can be done on the site until the Crew are in the new stadium. But there's also some push-back from the Ohio Expo Center people who own the land on which Mapfre sits and are worried about the loss of surface parking spaces (needed for major events like the State Fair or American Quarter Horse Congress. So the governor created a task force to work toward a "holistic" solution. All parties with any clout (like the governor) remain supportive of the overall concept. Various public sources have committed something like $50M toward it, plus new Crew ownership have committed tens of millions of dollars in charitable donations to communities in the area (which is pretty socioeconomically disadvantaged), so it seems likely that, eventually, the Crew will have a training facility there. But... the plans for the redevelopment of the area have already been pared, with the community rec center facilities becoming somewhat diminished, and (which seems pretty substantial for the Crew) the loss of a full-sized indoor soccer field. What's more, the Crew have been in tedious negotiations with the Village of Obetz, the location of their current (and MLS' first) training facility. Obetz has threatened to kick out the club so that they can do something else with the land (though, realistically, they have no other options). The Crew have had a month to month lease there for quite a while now. The two sides appear to be close to a new 2-3 year lease, however, which would be very welcome, even though the team outgrew the facility over a decade ago. Anyway, while the stadium future is bright for the club, until and unless the Mapfre development gets ironed out and can move ahead, the Crew are far behind the pack in terms of MLS training facilities. And based on what little we know about what they really want to build at Mapfre, and the news that initial plans have been cut back a bit, even if the Mapfre development happens, it doesn't seem like it'll be any better than middle-of-the-pack in terms of what other teams in MLS are building. A $10M infusion of cash of the Haslam and Edwards families could change that situation considerably, so we'll just have to see how things pan out.
Loved the incorporation of the original Crew stadium in the grand rescue plan. Really hope it happens and grows.
To be honest, I know some Crew fans who don't care too much about that, but I think most of us love the idea. What can I say, I'm hopelessly sentimental. But that stadium has been the site of so much soccer history, not just for the Crew, of course. There's the statue of Lamar Hunt outside. I'd just love being able to still visit it, see it used in a way that builds on that history. The flip side is that I'd hate to see that history bulldozed, that statue in some warehouse, or worst of all, an empty, hulking, rusting stadium sitting off of I-71. It's becoming overwhelmingly clear that Crew need a USL side; the FO has admitted this, but haven't (in their one year in charge) managed to make it happen yet. That team could play in the new stadium. But Mapfre would be a perfectly logical site, too. Small point, but one tiny detail was was mentioned about the renovation is that Mapfre's grass pitch would be removed and replaced with artificial turf. Too bad, I say, but I get the reasons why. The stadium won't be the Crew's exclusive use. Lots of community soccer would be played there; state high school football tournament games are already played at Mapfre; concerts. Plus maybe USL?
And if the Crew practice nearby it would make sense for them to train on the artificial field when they are getting set to play a turf team in the following week.
If they replace the turf frequently? Sounds like it could get a lot of use, that's why it's turf. TFC /BMO had this model in their early years, before they switched to grass, correct? Was that turf especially bad because it was old or overused or both?
At the Crew Supporters Summit on Tuesday, it was announced that groundbreaking for the training facility at Mapfre will be June 1, 2020, with completion taking about a year. Bezbatchenko said he'd hoped to have new renderings available to share on Tuesday, but they're not quite ready. In any event, good news for the Crew. There was some question about when the project would really begin and how long it would take. The new stadium won't be open until July 2021, so the concern was construction on the new training facility couldn't begin until the Crew were settled in the new stadium (i.e., out of Mapfre). That's not going to be the case. Too, the governor's task force about the future of the Ohio Expo Center/State Fair (on whose land Mapfre sits) is still plugging along. I didn't get the sense the Crew see this as a threat to the Mapfre project, but it will need to be something that's wrapped up publicly before the groundbreaking. Bez also said the club should have news within a week about a long-term extension of their lease with the Village of Obetz, where their current facility is located. That would nail down Obetz as the training site while the new one is being built.
In case you wondered how the EPL does it. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...de-training-grounds-Premier-League-clubs.html
Crew announce that Ohio Health is partnering with the team on their new training facility: https://www.columbuscrewsc.com/post...rtnership-ohiohealth-and-naming-rights-future https://www.columbuscrewsc.com/post...erformance-center-crews-new-training-facility Lots of juicy details in there, including a reference to a USL team locker room.
Here we go! https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/10/26/facts-figures-and-images-every-mls-training-facility
Heh... the Fire Pitch isn't the team's training facility. It's just a nice rec league facility they have in a mostly residential area on the North Side. The team did their preseason training there this year, but that's because they were doing construction on their actual training facility at Bridgeview, which they've made big upgrades to this offseason. https://www.chicagofirefc.com/post/...E17-9_DcUMe8MRJKD7Ww4DXc1Tq9EbA4Qd2BUAUPSNzvY
Ribbon cutting today at the Crew's new OhioHealth Performance Center: https://www.columbuscrew.com/post/2021/06/09/photos-check-out-gallery-ohiohealth-performance-center https://www.columbuscrew.com/post/2021/06/09/ohiohealth-performance-center-gamechanger-crew
What's happened with Bridgeview? Is that the Fire's training center? Does the NWSL team train there? Did they develop that dirt construction space next to the stadium and parking lots into playing fields?
Chicago Red Stars, Chicago House and the Canadian Men's National Team play there. It also hosts NCAA football and soccer. The Fire have left. Chicago Fire Eyes Belmont Cragin As Home For Team’s Massive $90M Training Facility
The Fire are still training there until they can get a new space. I think they signed a 5 year deal to continue to use it for training, and they added a bunch of training/weight room space inside the stadium building itself.