Two weeks ago, the Boston Uprising announced a brand new practice facility in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Uprising’s new space comes along with a public gaming venue organized by Helix eSports. This will make the third team to have announced a new training facility, with Dallas and Philadelphia highlighting their new space earlier this offseason.
Excited to announce our partnership with @HelixeSportsUSA!
Together, we’ll bring a public gaming center and #BostonUp training facility to @PatriotPlace.
Full announcement: https://t.co/lsQ83BZRWT pic.twitter.com/5GgMbDD9By
— Boston Uprising (@BostonUprising) November 13, 2019
Although the new facility is impressive, it will not be where Boston will be having their home stand matches. In his recent Q&A stream, Chris “HuK” Loranger mentioned that the Uprising do have a venue but it will be in Boston, not Foxborough.
New Year, New Boston
The new facility tells the community a couple of things about this new, revamped Boston Uprising team. First, it tells them that the organization isn’t afraid to put money into the team. Although Boston hasn’t opened up their pockets to high-profile free agents, they have decided to use the extra cash from various trades to fund this new space.Â
As of writing, most teams have yet to announce where their team will be holding their practices. Without Blizzard Arena and the corresponding facilities, teams are left to fend for themselves. The new facility creates a concrete base of operations for the organization for Boston, much like a traditional practice field. The investment into the new building displays how much the Uprising value traditional sports practices and methods.
Second, this move highlights the initiative from the Uprising and Robert Kraft to help build up the Uprising brand. The location of this facility is perfect for normalizing the Boston Uprising name, as its logo is predominantly displayed near the entrance of Gillette Stadium. Gillette is home to Kraft’s two major league sports teams, the New England Revolution and the New England Patriots. While the Patriots average around 68,000 attendees per game, Patriots Place itself serves as an attraction for locals. With the volume of people that come to Patriots games, the Uprising name will slowly but surely become more familiar with simply through exposure.
Thinking Beyond 2020
For the second year in a row, Boston has had a long offseason of roster changes. In signing 4 players from contenders, the Uprising have once again put faith in newer talent. It’s obvious that HuK and co have placed an incredible amount of value in creating a successful team for the future. The development of this new facility will surely help foster young players. However, planning ahead for future seasons can leave fans feeling a little uneasy.
Since their last appearance in a stage playoff, the Uprising have gone 4-17 including and an 0-7 stage to finish last season. Now having removed the previous coaching staff, the Uprising have decided on a new direction in hopes to turn things around. It appears as though Boston have taken one more trick from the sports world into the 2020 season.
Boston looks to build the foundation of a successful team for years to come, not necessarily right away. Although fans may want to win now, Boston have bigger plans for the future. With the young roster and an environment for them to grow, Boston’s future looks bright heading into their third season the Overwatch League.
Featured image courtesy of Kraft Sports + Entertainment
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