Atlanta United FC owner Arthur Blank said they will soon be in position to purchase the land to build a training center for the team.
Blank, speaking at the unveiling of the team’s logo on Tuesday, said they have narrowed the search to no more than three sites. One of the sites is in Marietta near Franklin Road. President Darren Eales declined to say the location of the other sites.
The team hopes to have the training center’s main building complete by mid-December, so he said they will be moving fast to make that happen.
Eales hopes to purchase enough land to house the team’s training site, as well as build the team’s youth academy. He estimated last year that they would need approximately 50 acres so that as many as 15 soccer fields could be built for the team and for the community’s use.
“We want this to be your club in the truest sense of the word,” he said to the more than 4,000 people who attended Tuesday’s logo unveiling.
Housing the team with the youth academy is important to Eales because he said it gives the younger players role models and first-hand experience on how to be a professional. It was the set-up at Eales’ previous employer, Tottenham Hotspur, in England’s Premier League.
Technical director Carlos Bocanegra told the crowd on Tuesday that the goal is for Atlanta United FC to have one of the best youth academies in the world.
To accomplish that goal, Eales said the franchise is also starting the search for someone to lead the academy.
The hiring of the first-team head coach remains a moving target, Eales said. He hopes to have that person hired no later than the summer of 2016 and will make a move earlier if an opportunity arises.
Blank made it seem as if the search will be global, which he said will take advantage of the experiences and connections of Eales and Bocanegra, who played for teams in England, Scotland, Spain and France during his career.
“Because of the background of Darren and Carlos, we have a chance to represent not just Atlanta, but to help MLS as it views its role in the world of soccer,” Blank said.
