Editor’s note: At its virtual meeting at 7 pm on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021, the Morris Township Committee is scheduled to discuss, and possibly vote on, a zoning change to allow the Red Bulls to build its soccer headquarters on the former Honeywell site.
By Robert “Casey” Becht
Morris Township has a unique opportunity to improve our community and to support youth sports by allowing the New York Red Bulls Major League Soccer franchise to join us here.
I am a 22-plus year resident of the Township, where my wife and I have raised a daughter and two sons.
We are a soccer family. I have seen the value that participating in sports provides our children in their road to becoming young adults. This inspired me to become a long-term volunteer with the Morris United Soccer Club and to become a board member with the NJ Youth Soccer Association as the State Registrar.
The Red Bulls are considering alternatives to relocate their professional and youth academy training facilities from Hanover Township to a larger and more modern facility. One of the options under consideration is for the Red Bulls to purchase a portion of the former Honeywell site in Morris Township and build a bespoke state of the art training facility.
This relocation requires modifications to the Township’s zoning ordinance and planning board approval to support the specific needs of a major league sports training facility. I am 100 percent in support of this proceeding.
I have witnessed first-hand the positive effect the Red Bulls franchise has on the people it touches. The Red Bulls are about family and community in everything they do. This includes supporting programs for special needs children such as TOPSoccer, by training coaches and providing facilities for these programs, to promoting youth soccer in under- supported neighborhoods through outreach programs.
The Red Bulls nurture the state’s youth soccer leadership, bringing coaches together in “Coaching Summits” to discuss and address areas of concern and identifying improvements that can be made.
These are just a few examples of the support shown by the Red Bulls for youth athletes. These acts are not done out of self-interest, but because they are the right thing to do, and because the Red Bulls realize they are a leader and need to set an example for others to follow.
When I consider the other possible uses for the Honeywell site, I cannot think of a better neighbor to join our community and I would gladly welcome the Red Bulls to Morris Township.
Casey Becht has volunteered with the Morris United Soccer Club for a decade, running the recreation and travel programs at varying times. He also is State Registrar for the NJ Youth Soccer Association. He and his wife Kristin moved to Morris Township in 1999.
The opinions expressed above are the author’s, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.
Agreed– what baffles me is that the APPROVED alternative is 715,000 SF of office space and parking garages.
At least this facility is soccer fields and better suits the development with the townhomes
I have no idea why people don’t want the NY Red Bulls to move their facilities to Morris Township . The project is privately financed and it will be a huge boost. People need to wake up and welcome stuff like this to their town. Business will move out of NJ/NY to NC and FL so we need to look elsewhere for economic growth and our local sports teams won’t desert us especially a recurring playoff team like the Red Bulls.