This week, Angel City announced that they will move “next door” into a training facility recently vacated by the Los Angeles Rams. The to-be-renovated facility is expected to be ready ahead of the 2025 NWSL preseason.
Also, the Kansas City Current’s interim general manager Caitlin Carducci is “interim” no more after a title upgrade on Wednesday.
Finally, Australian international Cortnee Vine is “taking some time off” to prioritize her mental health.
Angel City: Club will renovate and relocate to former Los Angeles Rams training facility
On Thursday, Angel City FC announced that they will move into the former Los Angeles Rams (NFL) training facility on the campus of California Lutheran University, which is located in Thousand Oaks, California, ahead of the 2025 NWSL preseason. (November 14th press release)
Angel City’s current training facility is also on the campus of Cal Lutheran and is essentially “next door” to their new facility (Google Maps). The Rams facility was originally constructed in 2016 for the Rams ahead of their first season back in Los Angeles. The facility was built on an accelerated schedule and has been described as “modular-based” (November 2023 Ventura County Star article). The Rams only planned to use the training facility for two years, but ended up staying until June 2024 (TheRams.com).
Angel City’s new performance center, will have about 50,000 square feet of indoor space, which should make it the largest training facility in the NWSL.
On Instagram, Angel City posted several renderings showing the planned renovations (embedded below):
The following is a list of features from the press release:
- A 5,400-square-foot gym equipped with brand-new performance and sport science technology in addition to direct pitch access with roll-up doors
- Custom lockers for players, coaches, staff, and a dedicated locker room for players under 18
- New hydrotherapy area including cold and hot plunge pools and saunas
- A private outdoor relaxation lounge
- A 3,400-square-foot medical treatment and rehabilitation area, a private recovery room, private doctor’s office and medical staff offices
- Elevated nutrition area for athletes to fuel with fresh, nutritious meals prepared onsite
- Children’s playroom to support the families of our players and staff
- Custom pre- and post-training nutrition and supplement area
- A 930-square-foot team meeting and film room
- Coaching and performance offices for soccer operations staff
- A fit-for-purpose studio onsite for content capture and interviews
- A custom boot wall
The facility will also have “a full-size pitch” as well as a “half” pitch.
Per the press release, Angel City is expected to operate out of their new performance center for a minimum of “up to four years”.
Kansas City Current: Caitlin Carducci named General Manager after serving as interim GM since May
On Wednesday, the Current announced that Caitlin Carducci, who was originally hired as the Director of Soccer Operations, will serve as the club’s general manager, after occupying that role on an interim status since the departure of Camille Levin Ashton in late May. (November 13th press release)
Prior to joining the Current ahead of the 2024 season, Carducci, a licensed attorney, previously worked for the NWSL as Director of Players Affairs and for U.S. Soccer as Manager of Member Programs.
Recommended Reading: The Kansas City Star — “Why the KC Current appointed Caitlin Carducci permanent GM, removing interim tag” by Daniel Sperry (13-Nov-2024)
North Carolina Courage: Cortnee Vine is “taking some time off” to prioritize her mental health
On Thursday, Australian international Cortnee Vine, through her talent agency, posted the following statement on Instagram:
I’m sure many people can appreciate that my life has dramatically changed over the past two years. Due to these very new and sometimes overwhelming experiences, I’ve discovered that identifying, managing, and prioritising my mental health has become something I have needed to work very hard on.
Like many who face mental health challenges, I have my good days and my difficult ones, but every day is a lesson in learning to find the right balance. For now, I need to focus on taking care of myself, which is why I am taking some time off.
I truly appreciate everyone’s support and concern, and I’m confident I’ll return stronger than ever.
Cortnee Vine
During the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which was co-hosted by Australia, Vine converted the winning kick in the Matilda’s extended penalty shootout against France in the quarterfinals (FIFA match page, FIFA highlights), propelling her to “hero” status in the Australian media (abc.net.au, sen.com.au, perthnow.com.au).
Vine joined the North Carolina Courage over the summer after four seasons with Sydney FC. Vine’s contract runs through the 2026 NWSL season. (June 14th press release) Vine started her first two matches for the Courage, scoring the equalizer in their 2:1 victory over the Kansas City Current, but only played three more matches, all as a substitute, including 15 minutes in the Courage’s quarterfinal loss versus the Current (NWSL game log).
For the Matildas, “Vine, 26, has missed multiple recent camps for personal reasons” (abc.net.au) and was not named to their latest roster for upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Chinese Taipei (matildas.com.au).
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