High-quality training facilities for American football players please

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. – More than 20,000 plants, shrubs and trees surround the modern architecture with a gym made from recycled shoes. Football players, from teenagers to members of the US national team, roam the grounds.

Welcome to the Arthur M. Blank National Training Center, 20 miles south of Atlanta. The high-performance facility, which is home to all 27 U.S. national teams, opened on May 7 and on Thursday the U.S. men’s national team held its first practice.

It’s another symbol that the United States is taking its soccer seriously as it prepares to host the FIFA World Cup along with Canada and Mexico from June 10 to July 19.

“For me this is the best,” said forward Tim Weah. “State of the art. I think when you have something like that, you want to keep playing for years.”

The new facility shows how far American soccer has come in the past decade.

“It’s a little surreal,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. “When I was growing up, we trained at the StubHub Center in LA as the youth national team and those facilities to me were amazing when you started at 14 and played for the national team. Now that we have this facility, I couldn’t even guess how much it costs.”

U.S. men’s soccer players practice Friday on one of the outdoor courts at the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Fayetteville, Georgia. (Photo by Gentry Roberts/Cronkite News)

It took $200 million to build the entire complex on 123 hectares and features 19 playing surfaces (17 outdoors and two indoors). The interior spaces cover approximately 200,000 square feet.

“I think it’s something amazing and a huge step forward for football in general for America,” said midfielder Weston McKinnie.

Fayette County was selected to host the new facility in 2023. Atlanta’s nickname as the “City in a Forest” inspired a decision to preserve its natural wildlife. The grounds surrounding the head office contain more than 21,000 plants, shrubs and trees that were planted in the autumn of 2025 to ensure that they would be ready in May.

The exterior features plenty of greenery, while the inside includes the Nike High Performance Gym, a 10,000-square-foot facility where two full teams can train simultaneously.

“The gym floor features recycled Nike shoes,” US Soccer digital editor said Sandy McAfee.

Achievements are on display in a trophy case at the Arthur M. Blank US Soccer National Training Center. (Photo by Gentry Roberts/Cronkite News)

The facility left some players wondering what their younger selves would think.

“15-year-old Max would be so excited to be here,” said defenseman Max Arfsten. “I’d like to use everything that’s here. I’m trying to do that now.”

Striker Folarin Bolagun was excited when he learned he could indulge in one of his favorite activities.

“I think everyone knows how much I love table tennis, so that’s what I’m going to look for after training,” he said.

Other players are focusing on more serious facilities, including a recovery area, 20 locker rooms and 19 meeting rooms.

The Arthur M. Blank US Soccer National Training Center includes two artificial turf fields and two sand fields for beach soccer, as well as 13 regular-size natural grass fields. (Photo by Gentry Roberts/Cronkit News)

The new facility is home to all 27 U.S. national teams and more than 350 U.S. Soccer employees. It is designed to motivate the next wave of American soccer players to reach the next level.

“I love it because when you come here you think, ‘I want to go to the top, I want to go to the top fields here,’” McKinnie said. “It’s kind of a way for the younger generations to forge a path for themselves. It can also be integrated here with all ages and levels of football.”

No matter what happens at the World Cup this summer, US Soccer is making strides to compete with the world on the field.

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