Red Bulls break ground on $112 million Morris County complex, goal to open in 2025

More than a year after it received approval from the Morris Township Planning Board, the New York Red Bulls have broken ground on a massive new training complex and headquarters for the Major League Soccer franchise playing its home games in New Jersey.

The 80-acre facility − privately funded at an estimated cost of $112 million − will feature eight full-size outdoor soccer pitches, including a turf field and complementary training areas. It will serve as the headquarters for the team’s sporting department.

The township "is pleased the Red Bulls have broken ground for their state-of-the-art training facility and that it will be completed prior to the 2026 World Cup," Mayor Donna Guariglia wrote in an email statement. "This premier facility will be an asset to the community in new jobs, commerce with very little impact on municipal services, traffic, and environment."

The site is less than two miles from the headquarters and practice facilities of the New York Jets' training complex in Florham Park. When it is completed, the Red Bulls will move out of their current practice facility, about five miles away in Hanover, where they have been based since 2013. The team competes in the MLS Eastern Conference and plays its home games at the 25,000-seat Red Bull Arena in Harrison.

“We are excited for construction to begin on our new Training Complex,” Red Bulls Head of Sport Jochen Schneider stated in a news release announcing the groundbreaking. “We want to provide our players, both professional and our academy, the best place for them to work, train and improve. This is a great day for our organization.”

Fall 2025 opening planned

The facility is expected to open in the fall of 2025.

Morristown-based Gensler is serving as the lead architectural designer for the complex, which is being built by Wayne-based March Construction. The new complex also will feature a cruciform-shaped building containing locker rooms, a gym, dining hall, academic spaces, physiotherapy areas and offices.“Building the premier training complex in Major League Soccer is a significant investment, but one that we believe is necessary,” Red Bulls President Marc de Grandpré said. “Our vision is for this facility to be a source of pride for our entire organization, our fans, partners and the Morris Township community for many years to come.”

Honeywell legacy

The Red Bulls property sits in the center of the former 147-acre headquarters campus of Honeywell International.

Honeywell sold off most of the campus to developers after moving to an existing space in Morris Plains in 2015, after then-Gov. Chris Christie provided a $40 million tax credit to convince the company to stay in New Jersey. Five years later, Honeywell abandoned that deal, and Morris Plains, for a move to North Carolina.

Since then, more than 230 townhomes have been built on the Honeywell property, bordered by Columbia Road and Park Avenue. The Township Committee in 2021 voted to revise zoning on the tract owned by the Red Bulls to accommodate its proposal. The Township Planning Board approved the project plans in December 2022.

The Red Bulls plan to propose additional modifications to the original approvals received from the Planning Board, the mayor stated. The modification proposal is scheduled to be heard before the Planning Board on May 22.

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com 

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