Hartford Athletic Unveil Brand-New Indoor Training Facility
“I can’t think of many [facilities] better [in the USL]…This is gonna put us in the top five without any doubt in my mind.” - Brendan Burke
After four years of planning, Hartford Athletic’s brand new training facility, the Day Hill Dome, is finally complete.
The 95,000 square foot athletic facility will serve as the official training home of Hartford Athletic, as well as their academy teams. The indoor dome features a full-size, climate-controlled turf field along with a full viewing deck, with three-field outdoor complex set to open in the spring — two artificial turf fields, as well as a natural grass field.
“I can’t wait for my team to get here, the guys are gonna be so excited to play in a place like this,” Head Coach Brendan Burke said at Tuesday’s ribbon cutting. “Just the scope of this place inside is massively impressive. I’ve been all over the country, in many different sports franchises, and this is one of the very best facilities I’ve seen.”
The first task at the Dome for Burke and his staff — overseeing a three-day open tryout period that will host over 200 players from around the world looking to make their professional dreams a reality. For him, the new facility will play a major role in the development and recruitment of the team going forward.
“In the USL sometimes the facilities aren’t quite what they are in MLS, and we want guys who are capable of playing in MLS to be part of Hartford Athletic going forward,” Burke said. “When you have a facility comparable to an MLS club, which I truly believe this is comparable to an MLS standard of a training facility, then it helps to recruit the very best players.'‘