Plans for the New York Red Bulls new training complex in Morris Township call for eight soccer pitches that will serve the first team and Red Bulls II, the organization’s reserve squad, along with the New York Red Bulls Academy and Youth Training programs. — Renderings by Gensler
By Joshua Burd
The New York Red Bulls have tapped Gensler as its lead architect for a long-awaited new training complex in Morris Township, where plans call for redeveloping a large piece of the former Honeywell International headquarters property.
The Major League Soccer club, which has pursued the project for several years, said the campus will span 80 acres off Columbia Road and less than a mile from the Route 24 interchange. The site will feature eight soccer pitches and be home to the first team and Red Bulls II, the organization’s reserve squad, along with the New York Red Bulls Academy and Youth Training programs.
The Red Bulls play their home games in Harrison but have been training in Hanover for the past decade.
“Gensler will provide world-class architectural planning expertise as we partner to build the premier training complex in all of Major League Soccer,” said Marc de Grandpré, general manager of the New York Red Bulls. “Our shared vision for this facility is something that our entire organization, along with the Morris Township community, will be extremely proud of for many years to come.”
The long-awaited project received final site plan approval late last year, according to published reports. With an estimated cost that’s reportedly around $112 million, construction should begin this year and be complete around 2025.
The Riker Danzig LLP real estate team of Nicholas Racioppi Jr., Linda M. Herlihy and James M. Maggio Jr., along with Marilynn R. Greenberg of the firm’s environmental practice, represented the Red Bulls in its fall 2021 acquisition of the former Honeywell site and continues to do so in its pending acquisition of adjoining land, which will be integrated with the larger parcel. The law firm also represents the club in all aspects of the permitting and approval process.
Gensler, which has a large presence in nearby Morristown, will guide all architectural and design planning for the facility.
“We are honored to partner with the New York Red Bulls to create their new home, which will bring their professional team, academy and youth development programs together in one location,” said Jonathan Emmett, a principal and design director with Gensler. “The core design concept for the training complex focuses on the performance, health and wellbeing of the athletes, coaches and staff.”
