FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – As the first-ever captain of the New England Revolution and a Massachusetts native, Michael Burns – now the club’s General Manager – has been around since day one, experiencing all there’s been to experience as a member of the organization.
Burns, then, is uniquely qualified to speak to the history of the club, and as the Revolution broke ground Monday morning on a state-of-the-art, $35 million training center in Foxborough, he provided context for the momentous nature of the new development.
“With the exception of the actual launch of MLS and the formation and launch of the New England Revolution (in 1995), for me, it’s probably the second-most significant day in the history of the club,” Burns said of the groundbreaking. “I think it’s that meaningful and that significant of a day.”
New England’s current training facilities are above the league standard – they recently remodeled and upgraded their medical and fitness centers to complement their dedicated grass training field – but this new training center will bring the Revolution into the upper echelon with regards to infrastructure.
The grounds will feature four fields – two dedicated grass surfaces for the first team, one dedicated grass surface for the Academy, and a shared turf surface – while the building itself will include world-class locker rooms for the first team and Academy, ultra-modern fitness and medical facilities, lounge areas, a dining area, and workspaces for the coaching staff and front office.
“For us to go from very, very good facilities to what I believe will be one of the best training centers in all of MLS is significant,” said Burns. “It’s a proud day for the organization.
“No matter what line of work you’re in, everyone wants to work in a really good work environment. We have a really good work environment now, but when this gets done, we’re going to have a great work environment.”
Construction began on Monday with a ceremonial groundbreaking that included Burns, club president Brian Bilello, and investor/operators Robert and Jonathan Kraft, and the training center is expected to be completed and open for use in the summer of 2019.
Details and renderings were recently shared with the players, and Michael Mancienne – who spent years at English Premier League giant Chelsea – said it’s on par with the best facilities in the world.
“To be honest, it’s one of the better ones I’ve seen,” Mancienne said. “Obviously I’ve been at Chelsea, and Chelsea’s amazing, but same kind of standard. It’s amazing what’s coming.
“To be able to come to that every day and know that’s your facility, it’s a big boost. You look forward to coming to training … I think it’s going to be a massive boost for the team next season.”
The facilities are also expected to provide a boost to the Revolution’s recruitment efforts, as a world-class training setup can help draw world-class talent. That will be particularly important ahead of an offseason in which head coach Brad Friedel said he expects major changes to New England’s roster.
But it’s not just immediate first-team talent that the training center is expected to attract, but also the region’s top youth players as the Revolution continue to build from the ground up through their Academy.
“From a player recruitment standpoint, on both the first team and the Academy side, it will be pretty critical. It will be pretty important as this league continues to evolve,” Burns said. “If you look at just our Academy teams, and we’re playing other local Academy clubs and they come into our facility, I can’t imagine being a (youth) player in New England and not wanting to be a part of this.
“With the first team, quite often we’re asked – particularly by international players that we may be having discussions with – what’s your training environment? What’s your training situation like? To be able to show them images, and next year actually be able to show them once the building is constructed, will carry a lot of weight. There’s no question about it.”
The benefits of the new facility will be expansive, with Burns highlighting the fact that having several fields available will allow the Revs to rotate use, providing much-needed rest for some of the surfaces during harsh New England weather. In keeping with the theme, all of the facilities will be built into the surrounding wetlands, providing an authentic New England feel to the entire development.
But perhaps most importantly this project signals a massive step forward in the evolution of the club, as the New England Revolution continue to grow and progress in the ever-changing landscape of Major League Soccer and the professional game in the United States.
“This is huge for the program. I can’t stress that enough,” said Teal Bunbury, who has spent the past five years with the Revolution. “I know the rest of the guys in the locker room are really proud, happy and grateful to the Krafts, to Bilello, to Burns, to everybody who’s put that together. It’s going to be a special place, and I’m really excited to get going and start training there.”
“It’s an incredible step forward for the club,” added Friedel. “For Jonathan, Robert, Brian and Mike Burns, they worked really hard behind the scenes to get this done.
“It’s a tremendous facility and it puts the club in a huge step in the right direction. It gives us another stepping stone to try to progress and train the group as we want to, and to achieve the heights we want to get to.”
