The attention this week was on Los Angeles Football Club's groundbreaking for their stadium, ahead of the club's 2018 entry into MLS. But the first shovel-turning on Real Salt Lake's new $50 million training facility in Herriman, Utah, was no less groundbreaking in its own right for RSL manager Jeff Cassar.
“It’s truly amazing. It’s going to put RSL not just on the map in the United States, but in the world, really,” Cassar said on Tuesday during an interview on ESPN 700’s 'Bill Riley Show'. “I think teams outside our country are going to want to come here and have training in preparation for their seasons and playing games against us.”
The ground is scheduled to open in September 2017, and will serve as the training facility for RSL, their USL side Real Monarchs, and Real salt Lake's Under-18, U-16 and U-14 academy squads. It will allow the RSL Academy to move home from its current base in Casa Grande, Arizona.
RSL currently train at America First Field in Sandy, Utah, and the Monarchs practice at various locations in the Salt Lake City region.
Having all five teams together will allow their coaching staffs to interact more efficiently and provide a significant recruiting tool, Cassar said.
“Whenever players can see what kind of training facilities and amenities and rehab and all those things – the video room that we are going to have is going to be amazing – these are all things that players want. Everything there is going to be to make the players better,” Cassar said. “There are going to be no excuses at all. When everything is there to have you better and everything is at the coach’s disposal to prepare his team, there is a lot of onus on coming through.”
Cassar called the facility "game-changing" and said it raises the stakes for other clubs around MLS.
“You have to follow suit with what’s going on,” he said. “The antes keep getting higher each time, and this is going to set the standard for MLS and if teams want to keep up they’ll have to do the same too.”
