2011 College Cup Site

The NCAA has selected Kennesaw State's new stadium as the site for the 2011 College Cup: http://www.ncaa.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/083110aaa.html

Brand new stadium-
all stadium seats with 8 luxury boxes for the NCAA officials





More views and some video at:

http://www.ksuowls.com/news/2010/5/3/WSOC_0503104714.aspx

Looks like a pretty impressive stadium. Aren't they pretty much soccer nobodies (no disrespect intended)?

The text says that they will share it with the Atlanta WPS team. Only seats 8300, which seems a little small for the College Cup.

At least it's not quite next door to Chapel Hill!

The last two times the NC and Texas sites were configured, the seating was under 7k, I think.

When are they going to hold the College Cup on the West Coast???!!! We have strong teams and serious fans, so why not find a place somewhere out here? Grrrrr

Would PGE Park work once it is reconfigured? PSU and UP could jointly host the Cup. Just a thought...

Not likely. One of the criteria is a grass field. UP would stand a better chance with a 2-3K expansion of Merlo. The schools is twice the size it was when Merlo was built. it might be time to think about a modest enlargement.

fwill wrote:Would PGE Park work once it is reconfigured? PSU and UP could jointly host the Cup. Just a thought...

No. With the NCAA criteria as they are now about the only grounds that can hold it are Austin, College Station, and Cary.

An expansion of Merlo might be in order, but just by a little.

I can't believe the NCAA would consider having the finals in ANY stadium in the NW at that time of year, unfortunately.

fan from afar wrote:I can't believe the NCAA would consider having the finals in ANY stadium in the NW at that time of year, unfortunately.

They had the first one at a fixed site right here in Portland . The weekend was pretty nice, too

I cheched the weather for Kennesaw state on accuweather. It's usually nicer here than it is there in early December, if you don't mind a little drizzle.

Geezaldinho wrote:

I cheched the weather for Kennesaw state on accuweather. It's usually nicer here than it is there in early December, if you don't mind a little drizzle.

When you say "drizzle" is that one of the one hundred words for rain that Pacific North-westerners are famous for?

I agree that Portland's weather can be a bit iffy in early December, but California is more reliable weather-wise. How is it that the NCAA created rules for hosting that makes it so only three places are eligible to host? That seems pretty unfair to me.

It's not just the weather. That has to be playable, of course.

The real issue is whether real soccer fans will show up. At a lot of the other venues, club teams are required to buy tickets so that their teams can play in associated club tournaments

At Portland, we can fill the stadium with soccer fans who are willing to play full price tickets and be happy that they were there.

There are very few places in the country where that is true, including at the last several venues.

That is a gorgeous stadium at Kennesaw. The more prime soccer venues, the better.