First look: Inside the $100m UCLA Bruins training facility the Sydney Roosters are using for Vegas

It’s the multimillion-dollar home away from home where the Roosters are working on an invaluable plan to bring down Adam Reynolds and the Broncos.

They are the staggering $100m Los Angeles training facilities which are preparing the Sydney Roosters’ for a tilt at history.

Roosters players were left gobsmacked after training at the world-famous UCLA campus in Westwood, a 10-minute drive from the team’s hotel in Beverly Hills.

The team completed a field session and weights on Thursday and will continue to train at UCLA until the team leaves for Las Vegas next Wednesday.

It has given the Roosters a decisive edge before their historic battle against Brisbane in Nevada on March 3.

Luke Keary with an American football tackling machine in the background.

The facilities were mind-blowing, locals claiming them to be superior to many NFL franchises.

This training centre of excellence is home of the LA Bruins, a college football team which plays in the NCAA division.

The four-floor facility includes a massive state-of-the-art gymnasium – with five full-time weight coaches – which opens up onto two artificial turf NFL training fields, one used for defence, the other for offence.

More than 120 athletes can use the gym at one time. Roosters players were unashamedly snapping dozens of photos on their phones. The size of the ice baths, spas and dressing rooms were remarkable. There is also a walk of fame.

“When we built this in 2017, the final cost was US $70m ($105m AUS),” said Branden Jones, UCLA’s assistant director of facilities.

“We have a basement with the training room and locker room and the weight room is on the first floor.

Sam Walker goes through his paces in Los Angeles.

“The second floor has all our meeting rooms and the third floor has all our coaching offices. This is one of the top facilities in the country, we are really proud about our facility.

“When you have top-notch facilities, great weather all-year to train, and a weight room which opens onto the field, you can’t go wrong. Just the UCLA football uses this facility. The other sports have their own facilities.

“Given the weather year-round we can always train, we don’t have to worry about being snowed-in or rained-in.”

The Roosters are formulating plans to nullify Adam Reynolds’ kicking game.

This masthead sat in on a Roosters team meeting inside the giant UCLA team room cinema where coach Trent Robinson addressed his players tactically about how to nullify opponent Adam Reynolds’ kicking game.

Adorned on the walls are photos and memories of players who graduated into the NFL through the UCLA system. Some of those star players include three-time Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl winner Troy Aikman and Baltimore star Jonathan Ogden. UCLA provided more than 20 players to the NFL this past season and boast almost 350 NFL draft picks.

Originally published as First look: Inside the $100m UCLA Bruins training facility the Sydney Roosters are using for Vegas