Atlanta United has unveiled a $25 million expansion at its Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground, nearly doubling the facility’s size to 50,000 square feet and bringing total investment in the site to over $90 million. The expansion was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by club officials, local leaders, and representatives from Emory Healthcare.
The new development features the Emory Healthcare Studio, designed as a creative hub for the club’s media operations. This addition aims to enhance digital content production capabilities and further strengthens the partnership between Atlanta United and Emory Healthcare, which serves as the team’s official health care provider.
Arthur M. Blank, owner and chairman of Blank Family of Businesses, commented on the significance of the project: “Today is a celebration of our continued growth and dedication to the sport of soccer, and what Atlanta United represents. From the very beginning, our vision was to build something extraordinary. None of this would be possible without the city of Marietta being exceptional partners and the home of our training ground since day one, and now with these updates, we take another step forward together. This expansion reflects our commitment to the game, the city and in creating a best-in-class environment for our players, associates, fans and community partners.”
The expanded facility will continue supporting First Team operations as well as Atlanta United 2 and Academy teams. It also positions Atlanta United to host international clubs ahead of major events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Linda Matzigkeit, chief administration officer at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta said: “We are proud to celebrate the expansion of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground and our longstanding partnership with Atlanta United. These new additions will help elevate Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground to new heights and provide important resources for players at every level of the organization.”
Joon Lee, MD, CEO and Executive Vice President for Woodruff Health Sciences at Emory Healthcare added: “This exciting expansion, along with the launch of the new Emory Healthcare Studio, represents the next chapter in our collaboration with Atlanta United — offering a unique hub for storytelling and content creation. This studio will be a powerful platform to share stories of health, wellness and resilience, while creating connections between athletes, caregivers, patients, families, fans and our community.”
The 20,000-square foot addition focuses on three main areas: player health and well-being for First Team members; youth development; and expanded front office resources. During upcoming renovations in phase two upgrades planned for this offseason—existing spaces will be repurposed for enhanced training facilities focused on recovery techniques such as environmental adaptation.
Additionally Academy office space will be converted into classrooms in partnership with Atlanta International School to support academy players’ academic pursuits toward high school diplomas.
Skate Noftsinger Chief Business Officer at Atlanta United stated: “This world-class facility showcases Arthur’s commitment to Atlanta United as the gold standard in MLS by raising the bar for player health and well-being youth developmentand content production while simultaneously giving us abilityto host international clubsand federations aheadof 2026 FIFA World Cupand beyond.Thisexpansion givesourplayersand associatestheresourcesthattheyneedtoperformat theirbestandto bringanunmatchedsoccerexperiencetotheentireAtlantacommunity.”
The campus now spans 33 acres including six full-length fields,two gyms,seven locker rooms,and more than100workspacesfor staff.The projectwas managedby IMPACT Development Managementwith Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio handling architectureand design,and Whiting-Turner servingas general contractor.
Emory Healthcare operates eleven hospitals across Georgia with over 29,500 employees.It is recognizedas themost comprehensive academichealth systemin thestate providingservices througha networkof hospitalsphysicians,and affiliatesacross metroAtlantaand beyond.
AtlantaUnited joined Major League Soccerin2017 winningthe league titlein2018—the earliestfor anexpansionteam since1998.Theclubhasbrokenmultipleattendance recordsandplayshome matchesat Mercedes-Benz Stadium.More informationcanbe foundat www.atlutd.com.
