The New England Revolution will make trips to Georgia and Florida as part of their preparations for the upcoming 2011 season.
In an attempt to evade the dismal conditions in Massachusetts during this snowy winter, the Revs will complement their work at the Dana-Farber Field House by taking 11-day sojourns to Orlando (Feb. 14-24) and Kennesaw, Ga. (March 3-13), the club announced on Thursday.
The visit to Orlando marks the Revolution's second consecutive preseason stint in central Florida. Although New England have yet to announce any matches on that trip, they are expected to arrange between two and four friendlies to supplement their practice sessions at the University of Central Florida.
While the final fixture list in Orlando remains uncertain, New England have scheduled three friendlies against MLS foes as part of the trip to suburban Atlanta.
The slate opens with a one-off trip to Chattanooga, Tenn., to face Columbus on March 6. The exhibition match at Finley Stadium will mark the first of two consecutive meetings between the two Eastern Conference foes.
After tangling with the Crew, the Revolution will return to Kennesaw to take part in the inaugural Atlanta MLS Challenge. The three-team, round-robin tournament at the Kennesaw State University Soccer Stadium will see the Revs face the Crew for a second time in four days (March 9) and finish off the tournament against Houston on March 13.
Revolution vice president of player personnel Michael Burns said the opportunity to play and train at the facilities in Kennesaw represented a promising opportunity to help the club lay the necessary foundation for the upcoming season.
“They had reached out to us,” Burns told MLSsoccer.com. “I actually spent a day down there a couple of months ago to check it out. It's in conjunction with Kennesaw State University and there's a brand-new, year-old, 8,000-seat stadium. It's beautiful. The field's fantastic. The practice field is right next door and we can use those facilities as well.”
Although the opportunity to train in familiar surroundings in Orlando and the perfectly tailored facilities in Kennesaw will aid the Revolution's day-to-day work on the training field, the scheduled friendlies against Columbus and Houston will also play a key role in preparing the Revs for the season opener in Los Angeles on March 20.
“I'm not necessarily sold that you have to play against an MLS team, but, at some point, you want to have some quality games,” Burns said. “This is the best way to do that.”
