COMMERCE CITY, CO (2/5/08) - The Colorado Rapids announced today their 2008 preseason plans, which are highlighted by three trips to Florida, Mississippi and England. After two weeks of training at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the team will get their first taste of training outside of Colorado when they travel to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for 13 days from February 11-23. The Rapids coaching staff will intensify the practices with two-a-day sessions as they continue to evaluate the players currently in camp. The club’s Florida excursion will conclude with an exhibition match against Rocky Mountain Cup rivals Real Salt Lake on Friday, February 22. The Rapids will conduct two practices at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park upon returning from Florida before heading back on the road for another 11 days. For a second consecutive year, the Rapids’ preseason plans will include a trip over 4,600 miles away to London, England. The team will be hosted by their partner club and perennial English Premier League contender Arsenal FC. The partnership between the Rapids and Arsenal, which was formed last year, allows the Rapids to practice at Arsenal’s facilities and exchange best practices in their club-to-club relationship. The team’s England trip will be from February 28 through March 9. The trip to England will be followed by 10 days back at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, after which the club will travel out for their last trip of the preseason, this time to Jackson, Mississippi from March 20 to 23. As part of their Southern training sessions, the Rapids will take on the Chicago Fire in an exhibition on Saturday, March 22. Colorado will conclude their preseason training with a solid week of work back at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park before they kick off the regular season on March 29, hosting the Los Angeles Galaxy at 7:30pm MT. COLORADO RAPIDS PRESEASON SCHEDULE February 5 – 9 Training at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park February 10 Players Day Off February 11 – 23 Training in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida February 24 – 25 Players Days Off February 26 – 27 Training at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park Feb. 28 – March 9 Training in London, England March 10 – 11 Players Days Off March 12 – 15 Training at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park March 16 Players Day Off March 17 – 19 Training at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park March 20 – 23 Training in Jackson, Mississippi March 24- 28 Training at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park March 29 Opening Day vs. LA Galaxy at Dick's Sporting Goods Park
No Mexico or Spain trip? ...but they are going to Jackson, Mississippi, which is about as remote as the Mexican locations they've been to! Sounds like a pretty decent pre-season though; when will Dick's training sessions be fan-accessable? G'Day...Ron
When will anything really be accessible? I just read the Weekly Update? and came away with as much information as I came in with, which is nothing. First we have the inaccessible practices, which I don't negate, but if the practices are going to be closed, we could get some weekly update info that says things like "Terry Cooke looked good in his new blonde afro"; "Dan Gargan sprained his left eyelid on a 30 yard penalty kick". That update could have been the update for any team anywhere in the world that practices outside in the winter between now and 1940 if not for the references to the Dicks grounds. My point is that in this time of the year, when new fans are being courted, and ex-girlfriends are being recontacted, it would be great to get some information, even biographical information about the players. For example, we could find out why they are going to Jackson, Missisisippi. I am pretty sure that they didn't look at the Chamber of Commerce brochures and decided it looked like the best possible place. I heard that Jackson was the home of the very first traffic cone. The bottom line is that right now there is truly no information unless we make it up ourselves.
Which is a really nice way of saying that the folks at Arsenal will tell the Rapids what they're doing wrong. The Rapids might tell Arsenal the best routes from DIA to DSG, but even then I suspect Arsenal might find a better route.
I'm just trying to figure out why a team that had problems maintaining a home-field advantage, at altitude on the largest field that regulations allow, is going to train at sea level for 27 days. We just signed a partnership with Pachuca, which according to wikipedia, sits at 7,960 ft above sea level. Would training there have been worth a bit more than playing against youth teams and FSL in Florida?
Moreover, in Florida they eschew Bradenton where they would at least get other professional teams for scrimmage matches. During Rapids time in Ft. Lauderdale the following teams train and scrimmage in Bradenton: DC United, Toronto, Columbus, Chicago, KC + Odense (Denmark).
http://www.coloradorapids.com/News/NewsDetails.aspx?NID=tzZbnGfTkJU= I hate to toot my own horn, but in this case, I have to. What again was the logic behind South Florida?
Yeah I have to agree. On the one hand I like them training in South Florida because it is the only time I get to see them play. On the other it probably isn't the best place to prepare for the season. As evidenced by the past couple of pre-seasons.