NYCFC Training Facility Thread
- Thread starter Gotham Gator
- Start date
I'll do a quick drive by tomorrow on my way to the game. Picking up friends less than a mile from the facility.
That question could have gone years without being asked.
There's also no way to know, but I am quite certain that they won't rearrange what they think is best for them or their families just to avoid giving RB fans fodder for banter or to avoid hurting the feelings of NY supporters.
I'm not saying that the Facility in Rockland is a BAD idea. But I don't think it's going to help draw a big name on a big salary, when he has to fight his way up from Manhattan -- one of the huge reasons big names come to NYC, to live and experience the city -- up 9A and the usual 87 backup for a Friday afternoon training session that he ends up 45 minutes late for. There's gotta be some land up in Mt. Kisco or Westchester to make this less of a pain for the players you're pandering NYC to.
Etihad Helicopters from the city to training and back. Problem solved.
Assuming the team stays in the Bronx or northern Manhattan I'd argue that the Rockland location is pretty decent. It's 10 miles north of the GWB. Plenty of room to expand if they ever want to and much cheaper than the city or Westchester. Using your example, Mount Kisco is roughly 40 minutes / 32 miles from Yankee Stadium. On the other hand, the new facility is 25 minutes / 20 miles.
It's nothing that top players wouldn't have experienced in other places. Very few major teams have their training grounds in the heart of the city they represent.
Regardless, it's being built here... Obviously CFG choose the location for a reason. I'm just glad it'll be close enough to visit every now and then.
From the Upper West Side, Google Maps says it would take 31 minutes right now to drive to the site. That's probably shorter than the average NYC commute. From West Village to the Rockland County site, it's 51 minutes by car.
From the Upper West Side to Willets Point, it's 33 minutes by car and 57 by public transit. From West Village it's 39 by car and 52 by public transit.
With that point made, it also could also be initial/temporary grounds. The plans for the site aren't exactly ambitious.
And Metro North is not a crap shoot?
Complete list of the subway lines that are crapshoots: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_New_York_City_Subway_lines
Yeah, and I am sure the Club has looked at the angles here. A lot of the players live in Westchester anyway, and guys like Villa and Pirlo are taking private cars every day anyway.
And don't take anything I said as disrespectful to Rockland itself, which is very nice - just the commute.
No, it's actually pretty good. NJ Transit and the LIRR are much worse, and to the extent there are issues on Metro North, it tends to be on the New Haven Line.
True story. During the first season, as I was just getting into the Club, I got off a late train into Grand Central. I saw a bunch of guys in NYCFC gear gathered at the head of a platform. I didn't recognize any, but then another guy - big, blonde and mohawked came over and joined them. Nemec. It was a group of players taking the train together up to practice in Rye.
There was a fatal derailment on the Hudson river line like 2-3 years ago. This is like debating the best type of cancer.
Yeah, that was awful, no doubt, but in terms of typical day-to-day performance, Metro North does very well, with few delays of any significance. There was one a couple weeks ago due to a suspicious package hanging over the tracks near Manhattan, but I can't remember the last one before that.
NickFromAstoria
Registered
It's a good thing this isn't Twitter, or Andrew Das' Spidey Sense would be off the charts right now.
I wouldn't expect them to build in the city, for sure, but I imagine there is space that doesn't require crossing a bridge. I'm not saying it isn't convenient for a lot of the players that live outside the city, but the big names will probably want to have their penthouse, etc., live the New York life. That's one of our biggest draws. I just hope that an inconvenient daily commute doesn't deter someone who could potentially be our best player(s).
True. I've never understood what his big issue is with Metro North. It's not 100%, but nothing is, and any delays are almost always confined to 10-15 minutes. There is no question it is head and shoulders above the other local rail lines, and it is also more reliable than driving. My wife (the good Dr. G) drives most days, and it is not uncommon for her to be delayed 30-60 minutes or more on what is typically a 30 minute drive.