UNC Wins College Cup

FSUfan... my gut tells me that the cost of renting an NFL stadium is way too prohibitive. Host it at a school, and the cost goes way down. Maybe even free to use the venue, other than operation costs? Likely so.

Wow, totally forgot about that, good point.

FSUfan wrote:Wow, totally forgot about that, good point.

Santa Clara got the San Jose Earthquakes to upgrade their stadium for free. It seems like a perfect marriage.

With the talk of a possible MLS team in Portland, it's too bad that a similar arrangement for Merlo is not in the cards.

I suppose that the neighborhood would object to having lots of Thursday night games with alcohol being served to 15000+ fans.

How about the Home Depot Center as a semi-neutral site? The Southern California teams would be close by, but not on their home fields (rather like UNC this year). Weather is good and the stadium is plenty large.

Are there sufficient turf wars (no pun intended, I promise) between NCAA and USSF to prevent that from happening?

SoreKnees wrote:With the talk of a possible MLS team in Portland, it's too bad that a similar arrangement for Merlo is not in the cards.

I suppose that the neighborhood would object to having lots of Thursday night games with alcohol being served to 15000+ fans.

How about the Home Depot Center as a semi-neutral site? The Southern California teams would be close by, but not on their home fields (rather like UNC this year). Weather is good and the stadium is plenty large.

Are there sufficient turf wars (no pun intended, I promise) between NCAA and USSF to prevent that from happening?

I don't think even an upgraded Merlo is in the cards for the MLS or WPS. I'm not real up on the agreements with the City and Neighborhood associations, but I'll bet the number of dates and night dates is part of the package.

The other main consideration is that the MLS is apparently OK with Turf fields, and the NCAA is opposed to them. That would seem to be a barrier to using PGE. The facts that PSU uses PGE and that UP would prefer games on campus both would seem to go against the idea you propose.

Drake stadium is not really an option. Although the capacity is large, it is really and ungainly stadium designed for observing track and field. It has a track which limits the width of the field to below the maximum size field we are used to playing (Merlo, Texas A+M, Cary). UCLA could not handle the parking either.

The best solution for LA would be to play at the Home Depot Center in Carson where the LA Galaxie and Chivas play. It is beautifully designed. Perfect for a large soccer event and home to nobody except that UCLA, USC, Cal State Dominguez Hills (HDC is actually part of this campus), Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, San Diego State and USD could drive there.

Portland was a host at one time. Where did they play that? If it was Merlo, then the stadium is even better now than it was back then. I am just sick to death of College Station. They actually have signs on the restaurant doors saying that guns are not allowed inside. Yikes. That must mean they ARE allowed outside.

Since this thing always ends up being played the first part of December why not chose someplace where the weather is tolerable? Say Florida or California.

The College Cup in Portland was at Merlo. I was at the game. Seating at that time was 5,595 or there-bouts, due to temporary stands no longer allowed by the fire marshall.

The NCAA has decreed they prefer venues of 10K and even though the Cary site doesn't seat that many, they still site College Cups there.

As for firearms, I'll offer that it is legal to carry a handgun in a visible holster in Oregon without special permits.

Maybe Nike could be convinced to construct a stadium at their complex. Really, I'm not totally kidding. They could afford it. It could be a great venue. It would be consistent with their mission. Nike people, any of you reading this?

I guess when all is said and done, there are enough viable national contenders from all parts of the country that, no matter where the finals are held, someone will probably end up being a "home" team, meaning from nearby (driving distance). Having said that, it seems grossly unfair that the same teams get that advantage over and over. As has been said on this thread, home field is a half to a full goal-a-game advantage, and UNC has won its last three championships on its "home" field. Let's spread it around. It can't be that difficult to find additional suitable sites.

This year's men's College Cup is Frisco, Texas, where one of the MLS clubs plays. MLS has done a great job getting soccer-specific fields built, and I'm sure some clubs would love to have a big weekend event at their place given this is the MLS off-season.

As for NFL stadiums, the College Cup draws well, but not that well, I think. And I prefer my pitches without even the remnants of pointyball lines.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:
I prefer my pitches without even the remnants of pointyball lines.

and the narrow pitch and the 18" crown....

I agree, fan. As soon as I heard the 2008 College Cup would be played in Cary, my first thought was, "somebody sure better knock off UNC before they reach the final four."

I also agree, UPSF, that Nike would be a logical place for a larger venue for high quality soccer-only. (How many seats did you have in mind? How large a place could the Nike campus hold?) They could bring in national teams for training and host the men's and women's College Cups, as well as lower level college championships and maybe even high school. (Of course, there would be Nike soccer gear for sale everywhere.)

Note: Written before PPT's 7:48pm post.

I assumed they favor southern sites since the cup is in December.

SoreKnees wrote:Doesn't seem quite fair, does it, to play the Final Four in your own backyard. This seems like compelling evidence for the NCAA to spread the hosting around more, or at least to avoid having perennial contenders host regularly. How about Florida State, Florida, Miami, UCLA, Santa Clara, San Diego, and even Portland getting a chance? I know that Merlo is kind of small to host nowadays, but aren't there any other suitable facilities except at UNC, UT, and A&M? Surely Drake Stadium is large enough.

It kind of takes some of the gleam off of Carolina's championship trophy knowing that it was won by playing all games in front of a home crowd.

On the other hand, it makes me even more proud of our Pilot girls for winning their two championships primarily on the road. In 2002 they only played one of their six games at home (the 3rd round), and in 2005 they only played two home games (the 3rd and 4th rounds).

As always....Go Pilots!!!!!

You know, this is an interesting problem. The NCAA obviously doesn't want to spend anything on the site, since they are already cutting corners by shipping out seeded teams. But the regulations the NCAA has imposed on the hosting sites (10K+ seating, regulation-sized field, etc.) means that there are really only a handful of viable sites.

Even a beautiful new field like Tennessee's Regal Stadium only seats about 3000. You just don't see a lot of soccer fields that have that kind of capacity.

And I'm sure part of the NCAA's thought process in hosting it in Cary is limiting travel costs... there were this year and historically are a ton of ACC, Big East, and SEC teams that make the tournament... it's so close to all those conderences that it does make a certain amount of sense to host it in that general area.

And as runnergirl pointed out, the weather in November/December is generally better in the south than in the north (or northwest for that matter).

What I would like to see (it would never happen, but it's fun to dream) is a stadium built specifically for the men's and women's college cup that becomes a permanent home site, kind of like Rosenblatt Stadium for baseball. Pick a medium-sized town somewhere in the Southeast or Southwest, work in conjunction with the soccer minor leagues, state high school association, etc. to ensure that the field isn't empty all year long, and build a beautiful complex. It could become a tradition of it's own...

Great idea, Stoney. And maybe someday it will happen.

BTW, how did the Home Depot Center soccer facility get built at a small school? Don't remember the name, but they sound like a lower level sports school.

Anyone know the HDC story? I think it holds about 10,000 and is soccer only. (?????????)

Isn't the HDC part of USSF's year-round training facility?

SoreKnees wrote:Isn't the HDC part of USSF's year-round training facility?

I think they invested in the HDC and in the facility in Bradenton, FLA

local clubs also kicked in, As did the MLS

FANatic wrote:

BTW, how did the Home Depot Center soccer facility get built at a small school? Don't remember the name, but they sound like a lower level sports school.

Anyone know the HDC story? I think it holds about 10,000 and is soccer only. (?????????)

The original concept of the HDC was to be a venue for Boxing, Tennis, Soccer. Supposedly there are facilities that can convert the main stadium for other uses. It is a 27,000 seat capacity stadium along with 10 full size soccer practice fields. Most recent non soccer use will be for the CIF pointy ball championships. Bands also play there. (anybody with the dough). The name of the school is Cal State Dominguez Hills who provided the land.

Here is a link to the stadium website
http://www.homedepotcenter.com/venues_soccerinfo.php