- WakeMed Soccer Park
WakeMed Soccer Park is a major soccer complex located in Cary,
North Carolina . Originally opened in 2002 as the home of theCarolina Courage of the WUSA, WakeMed Soccer Park is now the home to theCarolina RailHawks of theUSL First Division and theCary RailHawks U23's in theUSL Premier Development League (formerly the Raleigh Elite). TheNorth Carolina State Wolfpack men's and women's teams of the ACC play select matches there and the complex regularly hosts major tournaments such as the NCAA College Cup, the ACC Soccer Championships, and the NCHSAA high school state soccer finals.The soccer complex consists of a purpose-built, soccer-specific main stadium, two lighted practice fields, built to the same specifications as the stadium field, and four additional fields. The main stadium seats 7,000 and is expandable to 10,000 with temporary seating. Fields 1 (main stadium), 2, and 3 are all
FIFA international regulation size (120 yards x 75 yards). A project was recently finished, adding approximately 1,000 permanent seats to Field 2 making a second, smaller stadium field.WakeMed Soccer Park opened in May 2002 as State Capital Soccer Park. The park is on 150 acres that the State of
North Carolina has leased toWake County . Money to build the soccer park came from $14.5 million in county-wide hotel room and prepared food and beverage taxes. The Town of Cary assumed responsibility for operations and maintenance in 2004 fromCapital Area Soccer League . OnJanuary 26 ,2006 , the Town of Cary council amended its lease to allow it to sublet the property to Triangle Professional Soccer through the year 2011 for the exclusive promotion of professional soccer and lacrosse events at the complex.The complex also sports a full-length, nationally-recognized cross-country track and houses the offices of Triangle Professional Soccer.
SAS Institute , a privately held software company, has its worldwide headquarters in Cary. SAS had naming rights to the soccer park throughJune 30 2007 with the option to extend their naming rights for an additional 3 years. OnSeptember 27 2007 , the Town of Cary announced that SAS had not exercised their option on the naming rights and that WakeMed Health & Hospitals had purchased the naming rights to the stadium [cite web|url=http://www.townofcary.org/news/news2007/soccerparknamechange.htm|title=Town of Cary and WakeMed Announce Soccer Partnership|accessdate=2007-09-27] . EffectiveJanuary 1 ,2008 , the stadium became known as WakeMed Soccer Park. The naming rights agreement with Cary is good for 3 years and cost $300,000 per year.Fact|date=January 2008Notable events
* 2002 USA Men's National Team World Cup Training Camp
* 2002 Women'sNike Cup 1st Round
* 2003 WUSA All-Star Game
* 2003NCAA Women'sCollege Cup
* 2003 ACC Soccer Championships
* 2004 ACC Soccer Championships
* 2004NCAA Women'sCollege Cup
* 2005 ACC Soccer Championships
* 2005NCAA Men'sCollege Cup
* 2006Rochester Rhinos Spring Combine and Training Camp
* 2006 USA Men's National Team v. Jamaica
* 2006 USA Men's National Team World Cup Training Camp
* 2006USL First Division All-Star Game (v.Sheffield Wednesday )
* 2006 USA Women's National Team v. Canada
* 2006State Games of North Carolina (soccer events, ceremonies)
* 2006 ACC Women's Soccer Championships
* 2006NCAA Women'sCollege Cup
* 2007 El Salvador v. Honduras International Friendly
* 2007 ACC Men's Soccer Championships
* 2007NCAA Men'sCollege Cup
* 2008NCAA Women'sCollege Cup
* 2008Major League Lacrosse Rochester Rattlers vs.Philadelphia Barrage
* 2009NCAA Men'sCollege Cup References
External links
* [http://209.211.253.100/soccerpark/displaystatus.php Live Field Closure/Status Information]
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/sassoccerpark Pictures tagged with sassoccerpark at Flickr]
* [http://trisoccerfan.com/nucleus/index.php?catid=15&blogid=1 Travel Guide for Fans Visiting WakeMed Soccer Park]
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