MLS expansion club Atlanta United FC’s new training complex "will be a mix of English football, American football and Canadian soccer," according to Doug Roberson of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. The "estimated price tag" is $35M for the first phase, which should be completed no later than January '17, and "possibly total more" than $50M when the second phase is complete years later. Renderings show "a long, glass structure overlooking three fields and a 3,500-seat stadium with another field." The building "will feature floor-to-ceiling glass on the sides facing the fields." Club President Darren Eales hopes the glass "will allow everyone to see what is happening on the fields." How the building will be used to further the first team and the academy "were inspired by Toronto FC and Eales’ former team, Tottenham Hotspur." The middle of the building "will feature the MLS team’s locker room." Eales said that it "will be the largest, most plush, most luxurious locker room in MLS." The building "will include a tactics room that all of the teams will use." Eales said that while it "sounds a bit much for a headquarters and training complex ... the complex needs to be one of the best in MLS because it will be used as a recruiting tool when the team begins to sign players" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 8/7).
