Soccer facilities has always been an area where the US National Soccer team has lagged behind in compared to their European counterparts. However, now behind the support of the state of Kansas and MLS club Sporting KC a new soccer village will be host to the National Training and Coaching Development Center.
“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.”
The US National Team will now have a home. Instead of traveling to different complexes across the United States, this “soccer village” will hope to creates a central community for American soccer. We at The18 believe this is a huge step for the future of American soccer in terms of international success. It also seems that the United States looked at England’s new premiere complex, St. George’s Park, and wanted to create their own soccer epicenter. Even though our American “soccer village” may not be as "MTV Cribs" as St. George’s park, it is a good sign that now we are headed in the right direction. This is something Jurgen Klinsmann should be very excited about. I Believe!
Check out the video tour of St. George's Park below. Yeah it's pretty amazing...even though it's for the Brits.