Red Bulls Take the Pitch in Hanover

The New York Red Bulls have brought Major League Soccer to Morris County with the opening Tuesday of a new practice facility in Hanover.

Red Bulls players and coaches were thrilled with the multi-million-dollar facility, which includes three fields — two turf, one grass — on 15 acres of land, in addition to a cafeteria, gym, office space and more. 

“It’s great, it makes me excited to come to work. Makes you excited to do what you love to do. When you look around here, I really don’t have any words,” coach Mike Petke told BigAppleSoccer.com.

"It is an amazing facility, best in the league," left back Connor Lade said.

"It is an exciting way to start the second half of the season. Hopefully it energizes us for more,' said Lade, a Morris County native.

The Red Bulls had trained at Montclair State University since 2007, but the campus' facilities had their limitations.

"The size field at Montclair was around 60, 40 yards wide, which is tiny so it was tough to translate [real-game scenarios]. To have that small of a field, the space that you use in a game, not having that in 11-v-11 [scrimmages] or working on building out of the back, it was tough," Petke told MLSSoccer.com.

“We’ve been at Montclair for so many years and it wasn’t suitable for the players that we have and the environment that we wanted,” Petke told MLSSoccer.com. “We made do with it and to move into a facility that Red Bull has given us, it’s unbelievable. The excitement level is already high, and the guys are anxious to get out there and knock the ball around.”

The Red Bulls, who are currently second in the Eastern Conference, travel to take on Philadelphia Union at 5 p.m. Sunday. Check out the team's remaining 2013 schedule by clicking here.