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HERRIMAN — Part-owners Ryan Smith and Dwyane Wade joined the Utah Royals coaching and front office staff in the groundbreaking of the club's new training facility at the Zions Bank Real Academy in Herriman Thursday.
"It's one of the biggest, most exciting pieces of my career," Royals head coach Amy Rodriguez said. "I experienced Royals in its first iteration, and I thought it was great originally, but this blows things out of the water. I just feel so fortunate to be a part of this time where we are pushing boundaries and setting standards for women's sports and women's soccer in America."
The club shared plans for the multi-million dollar expansion and remodel plans for the Royals-specific 12,260 square-foot training site addition to the northeast side of the existing facility used by Real Salt Lake and the RSL Academy. The facility's completion is set for Spring 2024 and the club anticipates having it ready in time for the start of the Royals' inaugural regular season.
Only the best for our 👑 pic.twitter.com/9rZvaqqt0O
— Utah Royals (@UtahRoyalsFC) October 26, 2023
"During the creation process of this training center, the players' holistic view was very carefully looked at and thought about," Rodriguez said. "Every detail within this facility from the performance training to health and wellness — someone mentioned earlier we are incorporating a family room and mother's care room — just to really fulfill all the needs of our athletes. We just want every player to feel comfortable here and have everything at their fingertips so that they can perform on the field."
Smith, who is also the owner of the Utah Jazz, said there were plans originally to use the expanded space for the G League's SLC Stars, but the focus shifted to the Royals when their return was announced earlier this year.
Rodriguez and Smith both highlighted the importance of the facility putting the Royals on equal footing with the men's side of soccer in Salt Lake City. The club will also have access to the rest of the 42-acre Zions Bank Real Academy campus which includes five natural-grass outdoor fields, two full-size indoor fields and the 5,000-seat capacity Zions Bank Stadium.
