SHoP Architects to design new Gotham FC training hub in NJ
Renderings courtesy of SHoP Architects
Gotham Football Club has tapped renowned architectural firm SHoP Architects to design a new $35 million training facility in New Jersey for the championship-winning women’s soccer team. Announced on Wednesday, the project will transform the former New York Red Bulls training facility in Whippany into a purpose-built training hub focused on player performance, recovery, and well-being, making it one of the first facilities to meet the National Women’s Soccer League’s new training standards. Renovations are expected to begin later this summer, with completion targeted for summer 2027.
SHoP Architects, the team behind notable New York City residential buildings like the Brooklyn Tower and 111 West 57th Street, will renovate the existing buildings and infrastructure with a focus on athlete-centered design, durability, and campus cohesion.
The facility will feature upgraded recovery and wellness spaces, a new locker room, dining hall, meeting rooms, and offices, all designed to support player performance, preparation, and staff efficiency.
SHoP Architects will design social spaces intended to connect existing buildings with key areas of the campus. The Gotham Quad, for example, will serve as a communal space for relaxation, celebration, and reflection, with wood elements used throughout to create a sense of warmth and cohesion.
“Our goal is to create a practice facility that reflects Gotham FC’s identity and ambition through a design that is elite yet grounded,” Dana Getman, principal of SHoP Architects, said. “Through sustainable adaptive reuse and warm, timber-intensive new interventions like the Gotham Quad, we’re going to deliver a new model for a state-of-the-art training campus.”
“It’s a facility designed to support world-class athletes on the pitch while fostering deep team chemistry and community connection,” she added.
In addition to three outdoor fields, a new pre-engineered metal building will house a full-size synthetic turf pitch, allowing for year-round on-site training. The indoor field will improve scheduling flexibility and support consistent player development while maximizing campus resources and strengthening team identity and cohesion.
“Gotham FC is being built with the ambition to become one of the defining clubs in women’s soccer and a global brand in sport,” Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, governor of Gotham FC, said. “Transforming this site into our first dedicated training facility is a critical part of that vision, giving our players and staff a true home base designed around performance, recovery, development and connection.”
“As the game continues to grow globally, investments like this reinforce the standard we are setting across the club and help us compete for championships, attract world-class talent and build something that lasts,” she added.
Gotham FC is set to face the Washington Spirit at Citi Field on July 15 in a rematch of one of women’s professional soccer’s biggest rivalries.
The match will mark the first women’s sporting event held at the home of the New York Mets and comes four days before the men’s FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, adding to the wave of soccer events set to sweep the tri-state region this summer.
In Brooklyn, the New York Liberty are building an $80 million state-of-the-art training facility on the waterfront in Greenpoint. Designed by Populous, the design team behind the Sphere in Las Vegas, the 75,000-square-foot facility will be one of the few dedicated practice spaces for a WNBA team. Construction is expected to wrap up in 2027.
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