Atlanta United Facilities Just the Latest Jewel for Cobb County

Turn off Franklin Gateway and into the new Atlanta United Training Ground and you will find Cobb County’s latest jewel.

The $60 million, 33-acre campus, which boasts six full-size fields and a 30,000-square-foot training facility for both the Major League Soccer squad and its youth academy, officially opened its doors Tuesday to rave reviews.

“When you think about what makes sports work in communities, you need three things,” MLS commissioner Don Graber said. “It starts with a visionary owner. The second thing you need is a great market, and the third thing you need are great facilities. We’re anxious to get into Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but you also need what you have here. This is an unbelievable model for our league of what a training ground can be.

“I’ve traveled around the world. I’ve been to Manchester City, been to Tottenham, I’ve been to Barcelona and AC Milan. For the size of our league and the size of where we are today, this is best-in-class. I am absolutely in awe in what I’ve been able to see.”

Let it be said, Cobb County and the surrounding area is in the middle of a sports renaissance. It started in 2010, when Kennesaw State built and opened the 8,500-seat Fifth Third Bank Stadium. Originally built as a soccer stadium that held the Owls and the now defunct Atlanta Beat of Women’s Professional Soccer, it now hosts the university’s third-year Division I football team and Major League Lacrosse’s Atlanta Blaze.

Just across the Cobb-Bartow county line in Emerson is the LakePoint Sporting Community, which has developed 350 of 1,300 possible acres to bring in college and youth events in a variety of indoor and outdoor sports.

On Friday, the Braves will officially open the 41,000-seat, $620 million SunTrust Park when the San Diego Padres come to Cumberland for the first time.

And now we have what can only be considered a mecca for soccer training facilities. What a transformation.

Four years ago, what was then Franklin Road was a densely populated line of drug- and crime-infested apartment complexes. On Tuesday, Marietta Mayor Steve Tumlin said there is no comparison to what the location used to be, and with the city continuing to have developments moving into the area, it’s only going to get better.

“It’s night and day,” Tumlin said. “It is beautiful. I knew what this could be and it exceeds my expectations.”

United’s main facility has six locker rooms, starting with one for the 12-and-under squad and gradually working toward the MLS team’s main dressing room. The professional locker room is oval-shaped with no corners to encourage team unity. It has 22-foot ceilings with 14 large windows to allow natural daylight to shine through.

The team’s workout facility features state-of-the art equipment, a recovery and nutrition bar and a 30-foot wall that can open to the outdoors. There are also two in-ground hydrotherapy pools. The team also has a full-service, 3,000 square-foot dining facility and terrace with open kitchen to make sure the team receives the proper nutrition. Outside the facility is equally as impressive.

The six fields are split — three with natural grass, three with an artificial surface — and there is an additional training area for goalkeepers.

The academy has a 2,500-seat field with 300 square-foot videoboard for first-team and academy matches. The FieldTurf surface will also be used for visiting national and international clubs for training, along with community matches and clinics.

There is also a running trail that weaves its way around the perimeter of the facility. If that isn’t enough, less than one-third of a mile down Franklin Gateway, the city of Marietta is constructing a 13-acre community park with three more fields that will allow Atlanta United and the city to host large tournaments and events.

Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank had the necessary vision to build the organization, but he was the first to recognize that much of what has been done could not have been done without Tumlin’s help.

“We were a soccer club with just a handful of associates getting ready to play in a year, and we were out on the street and we were homeless,” Blank said. “The mayor made us feel at home. The mayor put his arms around us and said, ‘We would love you here in Cobb County,’ and we worked hard with all our whole team to put together this wonderful facility. Mayor, I forever indebted to you, and your city council. Thank you for your support and leadership. We’ll make you proud both on the pitch and off the pitch and in the community as well.”

For Tumlin, the completion of the Atlanta United facility is something he can put in his legacy column.

For Cobb County, it’s another reason to be proud of where we have come from, and where we are headed.