Angel City officially cut the ribbon on their new training facility on Tuesday, showing off their expanded performance center as NWSL preseason gets underway.
The nine-acre Thousand Oaks site boasts 1.5 full-sized pitches and 50,000 square feet of indoor space, making it the league's largest NWSL-specific practice ground.
The center also houses a 5,400-square-foot gym, multiple locker rooms, medical offices, an outdoor lounge, an onsite content studio, a children's playroom, and rehab, hydrotherapy, and nutrition areas.
Having practiced at Cal Lutheran University since the expansion franchise's 2022 debut, ACFC later relocated across campus to the former home of the NFL's LA Rams. They then transformed the site into their record-setting performance center after completing a multi-million dollar remodel.
"Today we get to celebrate an extraordinary milestone for Angel City. Our new performance center reflects our commitment to the future of ACFC to its sustained excellence, and to providing our players with the best possible environment to train, to recover, and to thrive," said ACFC controlling owner Willow Bay in a statement. "My husband Bob Iger and I know how important it is, and how essential it is to ensure that our players have everything they need to be successful both on and off the pitch. This state-of-the-art performance center, let's be clear — it sets the bar, but it really should be the norm."
An unmatched tool for the new NWSL recruitment era
Offering a record-setting performance center to Angel City players could have the unexpected benefit of attracting and retaining future talent for LA.
With the abolishment of NWSL college and expansion drafts and the requirement to gain player permission for all trades taking effect under the league's new CBA, clubs now face a new era of athlete recruitment.
Rather than benefitting from the previous and arguably more passive system, NWSL franchises must now take a decidedly more active approach to roster-building by wooing potential players and impressing those currently on their squads. Adding top-tier facilities is a major way to sweeten the deal, giving Angel City a potential leg up over other clubs.
"This facility, when people have been here and seen this, I don't know how you're going to want to leave," incoming Angel City sporting director Mark Parsons told reporters at yesterday's unveiling event.
"My job has just got much, much more easy with this facility," Parsons continued. "This is unlike nowhere else. I’m excited to be a part of an organization that cares that much. But I’m also excited that my skill set just got a bit easier, because everyone’s going to want to be here."
