Concerns Raised Over Athletic Training Facility In Morris Township

MORRIS TOWNSHIP, NJ — The New York Red Bulls' proposal to build a training facility on Columbia Turnpike is back on the agenda of the Morris Township Planning Board, adding to the already lengthy approval process.

In recent months, the Red Bulls have presented their potential training facility site plans to the planning board and members of the public, with testimony from the project architect and landscape architect, among others.

At a recent meeting, Kristin Byrd, one of the project architects, discussed updates to the new facility's exterior design. According to Byrd, the facility will include nine separate buildings as well as one attached academy dormitory.

The main building, which is expected to be four stories tall, will house the pro team players and coaches, as well as the academy dorms and all academy facilities and operations.

The Red Bulls' attorney claims that the team is doing everything possible to minimize any negative effects on the community, though there is a slim chance that there will be no impact at all. Byrd, for example, described how the architecture team purposefully reduced the height of the main building on the side closest to the residential community in order to make it more level.

Last year, the team announced plans to build the training facility on the 80-acre site off Columbia Road, but the process has yet to move past the planning board. Residents in the area have expressed concern about the project, fearing that the increased lighting and noise level from the speaker system will disturb the neighborhood.

The Red Bulls have spent time revising their project plans after receiving feedback at previous public meetings, and that community engagement is expected to continue throughout the process, according to officials.

Residents who live nearby are concerned about the increase in overnight or late night lighting. The New York Red Bulls Training Facility sign, which is expected to be 6 feet tall and 118 feet long, will also be illuminated, along with the overhead field lighting, according to Byrd.

However, the Red Bulls team intends to add fencing as well as other measures such as a "planting buffer" of various trees to block some of the overhead light from the surrounding neighborhoods.

Richard Tangel, a local resident, was one of many who spoke out about the issue of visible lighting. "Those renderings show visible light from a distance. The previous expert said no lighting, but he's agreeing that he sees the lighting now, so you have a discontinuity here between experts."

The rendering of the anticipated lights can be viewed here.

Construction on the facility was anticipated to begin this year, with an initial completion date of 2024. That timeline is now improbable, as development plans call for three two-year phases of construction to complete the project.

The new facility would house the Red Bulls' first team, as well as the Red Bulls II of the USL, as well as the academy and other youth programs, making it North America's leading youth soccer development system.

The public hearing on the project, which has drawn several residents to express their concerns, is scheduled to continue tonight at 7 p.m.