After two decades of training on borrowed and shared fields, Gotham FC finally took its first steps on a facility of its own.
On Tuesday, Gotham held its first training session at the club’s new permanent home in Whippany, New Jersey, which was the former site of Red Bull New York’s training ground and academy.
Carolyn Tisch Blodgett: Gotham FC’s Facility Is Key to Becoming One of the World’s Best
For Gotham’s ownership group, the facility represents more than a place for the team to train. It is a tangible reflection of the club’s ambitions and a major investment in bolstering a championship organization that continues to compete at the highest levels of the women’s game.
“It’s a moment we’ve dreamed of, we’ve talked about, we’ve planned for,” club governor Carolyn Tisch Blodgett said. “Really, pretty much since we bought this team, we have been thinking about how we elevate this club.
“We came in and we said, we want this to be one of the best clubs in the world. We want to grow the women’s game, elevate the standards of what it means to be a women’s soccer team. Having your own dedicated space is an essential part of that.”
Yael Averbuch West’s Childhood Dream Is Becoming Gotham’s New Reality
For the club’s president of soccer operations Yael Averbuch West, the move into a facility being purposefully remodeled around Gotham’s needs that is owned and operated by the club is particularly meaningful. The Montclair native, who went on to represent the United States women’s national soccer team, will be able to provide aspiring young players with the resources she dreamed of having when she was a youngster.
“I think a lot about what I dreamed of when I thought of being a professional soccer player when I was nine and literally grew up minutes from here,” Averbuch West recalled. “I dreamed of something that wasn’t the reality for me as a professional, meaning I was imagining my own training center where I show up every day and things were catered for me, probably what it’s been in the men’s game, and then full stadiums under the lights.
“So hopefully one day for the future players who are aspiring and the players who are in our pro player pathway program, that is the reality. This is one of the steps we need to take to get there.”
Gotham’s New Home Will Support the Next Generation of Players
Gotham FC plans to launch an under-23 team featuring first-team players. The remodeled Whippany facility will aid Averbuch West and the club’s sporting staff in recruiting promising local, national and international talent by offering the spaces and infrastructure necessary to nurture and develop the next generation of pros.
“A purpose-built training center made for the future of the game is so important,” Averbuch West stated. “It creates a vision and a reality where players growing up here locally, but also all over the country and all over the world, are going to know this as the reality of women’s soccer and when you’re an elite player, this is what you aspire to and they won’t know anything else.”
The renovation of the Whippany facility is expected to be completed in the summer of 2027 in collaboration with SHoP Architects, who designed Barclays Center, which is home to the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and the WNBA’s New York Liberty.
Once the transformation is fully completed, the site will be a sprawling 27,000-square-foot campus equipped with three grass playing surfaces (two are FIFA-certified, one is heated), a 3,000-square-foot gym, a hydrotherapy room, a recovery room and a dining area with a performance chef. The club also plans to build an indoor full-size turf pitch.
Taryn Torres on Gotham’s New Facility: ‘It’s What We Deserve’
Midfielder Taryn Torres, who is in her fifth season at the club, shared her excitement about Gotham’s forward-thinking vision and praised ownership for backing the club’s ambition.
“I think investment from the ownership, top down, we really feel that as players,” Torres said. “Knowing that we’re growing, Gotham has investment, we’re getting amazing facilities, it’s something that does boost us.
“To have something to call our own that’s top-quality facilities, it’s amazing and I think it’s what we deserve. So I’m just really happy to have something that we can have our own and to build and continue to go forward.”
Mandy Freeman Believes Gotham’s New Home Can Bring Players Closer Together
No player has witnessed Gotham’s on-pitch and off-pitch evolution more closely than veteran defender Mandy Freeman, who has spent a decade at the club.
Freeman believes that the facility will create closer bonds between players during downtime and lead to enhanced connections on the pitch.
“I feel like anytime we’re allowed or we have the space to kind of be with each other, it helps team chemistry off the field, which I think can only improve how we perform on the field,” Freeman explained.
“So being able to have our lunches, hang out after meetings, in between our lifts and our work on the field, I think it’s going to be better for the group and for the team and building that chemistry, building that camaraderie, getting to really know each other. So then when we’re on the field, we’re not just fighting for a win, but we’re fighting for each other.”
“Having it to where it’s all in one space, where we can grab our food and sit down, I think it’s going to be a huge part again of growing the team chemistry, getting to know each other off the field to help build those relationships on the field.”
Clearly, Gotham players already feel a boost from having a facility of their own. Once summer 2027 rolls around and renovations are complete, the reigning NWSL champions will truly benefit from a home that feels like theirs.
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