For New York City FC’s Sporting Director, plans to construct a new training facility in Orangeburg go far beyond bricks, mortar or even grass.
According to Claudio Reyna, having a permanent home in New York will produce tangible sporting benefits, bringing the team and staff closer together than ever before.
NYCFC are due to move into their new home in Rockland County in early 2018 and, taking into account its specification, its amenities and location, Reyna couldn’t be more satisfied with this next step in the Club’s evolution.
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“The new facility is going to be great for our team,” Claudio told NYCFC.com.
“It will take us to another level. It will give us the appropriate space and bring our staff and players together every day in a fantastic setting to help us achieve our goals.
“It will be elite and as good as any facility in the country. I’m really looking forward to having the players and staff together every day.
“The overall team culture is only going to get better as a result. We pride ourselves on that as a club - we’re accountable for every single day, every month, every game we have. To have a facility like this, I know our staff and players are going to look forward to coming here.
“That’s what this club is about – we open our doors to guests to fans to family – we’re not just building a facility, we’re building a home. That feeling of home is built by our staff and our players who are committed to the success of this club.
“It’s a place where we’ll come together to celebrate, to come together after difficult defeats. A training ground isn’t just somewhere to train and practice for an hour and a half, it’s everything that goes on before.”
Orangeburg is a town with an inherent soccer culture, which has been another important consideration in the procurement of the land.
NYCFC has pledged to donate $300,000 to develop fields on an adjacent site to the new City Football Academy training facility, to give the new generation of soccer-loving kids a place to play in sight of their new MLS neighbors.
Reyna believes that Orangeburg represents the perfect location to base the Club’s footballing operations and is delighted at the warm reception these plans have received.
“Orangeburg is a great location, not too far from New York City and where we play at Yankee Stadium,” he said.
“We’re in a community which is happy to have us and there’s already a strong soccer tradition in the town. It was our intention to find the right place and a community that wants NYCFC.
“It’s an important step because we needed to find more space. We need a permanent home. There’s something special about that. To call it that is, for everybody involved, something different – something special.
“All of our planning, all of our efforts to prepare the team to try to win trophies because ultimately that’s what we’re aiming to do over the coming years.”
