The New York Red Bulls are sharing their training facility with New York City FC
New York City FC will take their full team training across the river to their arch rivals facility in Whippany, New Jersey where the state COVID-19 guidelines are more flexible.
How’s this for relationship building in 2020.
First, the New York Red Bulls shared their stadium with arch rival New York City FC - and now their training facilities.
Due to current New York State guidelines that prohibit full team training due to COVID-19, NYCFC started full team sessions on Monday at the RBTF in Whippany, NJ. The Red Bulls began full team training last Thursday after New Jersey policies were adjusted.
Earlier this year, City was forced to play two “home” legs of the Concacaf Champions League at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ before COVID-19 shut down both MLS and the CCL.
The last time that City stepped onto a pitch as a full team was a 1-0 defeat to Tigres in the home leg quarterfinal at RBA on March 11.
Two weeks earlier, NYCFC defeated San Carlos 1-0 in NJ to advance on aggregate, 6-3. City’s most prominent supporter’s club, The Third Rail, had declared a boycott for moving the match out of NYC and into the domicile of their nemesis. The group rescinded the boycott for the Tigres affair.
Neither Yankee Stadium nor Citi Field were available for the CCL matches and the numerous host venues proposed by NYCFC were denied by Concacaf.
“We had 60 to 70 [potential venues] and it did not include the one we ended up at,” club president and CEO Brad Sims said at the time.
Among the options presented by NYCFC were Belson Stadium at St. John’s University which had previously been the host venue for a U.S. Open Cup match in 2019.
NYCFC will train at RBTF in the late afternoons to ensure that the teams and staff don't overlap for health and safety purposes. RBNY will practice in their normal morning time slot which allows time in between sessions for cleaning the facility. NYCFC will have access to the fields but not the buildings. City will continue to utilize the City Football Academy on occasion for small group sessions.
The ability to train as a full team with contact will enable City to delay their departure to Orlando and the MLS is Back tournament. On a media conference call last week, head coach Ronny Deila said the team was planning to arrive in Orlando on the first permissible date - June 24 - because of the strict NY protocols.
For full team training, NYCFC submitted a club-specific plan to MLS for approval that had been reviewed by the club’s Chief Medical Officer and New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Club-specific plans must adhere to the following guidelines for full team training:
Testing:
Players must complete a physical examination, and all players and staff must complete two Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests 24 hours apart, 72 hours prior to the start of training, and undergo one baseline antibody (serology) test.
Players will be cleared to train by their medical staff only after they have successfully completed their interim physical, completed two negative PCR tests and the serology test.
Players, coaches and select staff must complete PCR tests every other day and only those with negative results will be allowed to attend training.
Serology testing will be performed once every three months.
Individual club test providers must be authorized by the FDA and Health Canada. Turnaround time for tests must be no more than 24 hours.
If a player or staff member tests positive, the individual will be isolated. The isolated individual will be tested again at least 24 hours later to ensure the result was not a false positive. All close contacts will be tested immediately. Contact tracing will be performed at the direction of the club’s COVID-19 task force and local authorities.
A player or staff member that tests positive for COVID-19 may return to training only when cleared by the club’s Chief Medical Officer in consultation with the league medical team.
Any player or staff considered to be in a high-risk category for severe illness related to COVID-19 will not be permitted to participate in team training unless cleared by the club’s Chief Medical Officer.
Facilities and Equipment Use:
Clubs will have the full use of their training facilities.
Entry points should remain open to avoid repeated contact with doorknobs or door exit bars.
The training room, gyms and fitness areas will be restricted to no more than five individuals at any time while maintaining physical distancing standards.
Clubs should use multiple dressing rooms and assign players to the same dressing room for each training session. Individual lockers should be spaced at least 10 feet apart.
The training room, gyms and fitness areas, as well as dressing rooms and showers must be cleaned, sanitized and disinfected following every session in accordance with MLS protocols.
All equipment and laundry must be cleaned and disinfected after each use and in accordance with MLS protocols.
Clubs must provide individual hydration bottles to players at all times. Communal water or hydration devices are strictly prohibited.
Only individual, prepackaged meals and individually wrapped utensils may be provided to players and staff. Players and staff must maintain 10 feet of physical distancing while eating.
Player and Staff Safety Processes:
Individual club plans must include an Emergency Action Plan for all COVID-19 related issues.
Training access is restricted to essential staff only, with specific staff listed in the individual club plan.
Completion of a Standard Screening questionnaire by each player prior to every arrival at the training site, and temperature checks upon arrival at the facility.
Staggered player and staff arrivals and departures, with designated parking spaces to maintain maximum distance between vehicles.
Player use of personal protective equipment from the parking lot to his designated position on the field or gym. Players should keep their facemask on when in the training room.
Staff use of the appropriate personal protective equipment at all times, including throughout training.
Hand washing and disinfectant stations for required use before and after sessions.