MORRIS TOWNSHIP — As New Jersey prepares to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, soccer passion reached a new level at the official grand opening of the RWJBarnabas Health Red Bulls Performance Center.
Mayor Donna Guariglia was among a VIP list of speakers at the event, which also included RWJBarnabas CEO Mark Manigan, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, the Red Bulls' President Marc de Grandpré, Head of Global Soccer Jürgen Klopp and Head of Sport Julian de Guzman.
"This is where the future of this club will take shape," de Grandpré said. "This center raises the standard. Now we must live up to it every day."
Former New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy, who also chairs the World Cup New York-New Jersey Host Committee board of directors, also spoke, praising the new 80-acre facility as "beyond spectacular."
The centerpiece of the complex is the 85,000-square-foot, two-story main building that will serve as offices for the Red Bulls' first team. Club officials have not released a final budget, but previously said it was "north of $100 million."
The complex was carved from land that formerly hosted the corporate headquarters of the Honeywell Corp. The Red Bulls broke ground there in 2024.
The property includes eight full-sized outdoor soccer pitches, some of which are not fully completed. It also features a mix of heated, irrigated natural grass and turf surfaces, and one 500-seat match field designated for Red Bulls Academy, the club's player development program.
Outdoor areas are equipped with advanced training technology, including multi-angle camera tracking systems for analytics and development. Along with the Academy, the site is also home to the Red Bulls' main team and its second team, Red Bulls II.
Grand opening ceremonies were held outside the main building, which is bordered by a turf field large enough for two pitches. The event drew a media horde, while former and current players — and younger players from the club's youth academy — watched the festivities, which included skydivers from the Red Bulls "Air Force" dropping in to deliver a ceremonial grand-opening key.
Murphy, the wife of former Gov. Phil Murphy, also noted that the Brazilian national team will train at the new facility during the World Cup.
RWJBarnabas joined the project in January as the naming rights partner of the facility. The agreement also designated the medical system as the official health care provider and EMS partner for the Red Bulls and its youth programs.
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Manigan called the facility "without a doubt, the best soccer training and development center in North America."
"New Jersey has become the cradle of American soccer, a place where the game set its first roots, thanks to Kearny's Irish and Scottish roots," he said. "Today, these storylines converge in Morris Township."
The site is less than two miles from the headquarters and practice facilities of the New York Jets' training complex in Florham Park. When the Red Bulls' home is complete, the club will move out of its current practice facility, about five miles away in Hanover, where the organization has been based since 2013.
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Red Bulls open new training center in NJ before 2026 World Cup