WakeMed Soccer Park facts for kids
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View of the stadium in 2007
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| Location | Cary, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Owner | Wake County |
| Operator | Town of Cary |
| Capacity | 10,000 |
| Surface | Natural grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 2001 |
| Opened | May 2002 |
| Construction cost | $14.5 million (plus $6.3 million expansion) |
| Architect | Envirotek, Inc. |
| Tenants | |
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WakeMed Soccer Park is a big sports complex in Cary, North Carolina, USA. It's mostly known for soccer! The park has a main stadium called "First Horizon Stadium" which is built just for soccer. It also has two practice fields with lights and four other fields.
The main stadium and the two lighted fields are all the right size for international soccer games. The main stadium can hold 10,000 people. Field 2 also has 1,000 seats. The park even has a long course for cross-country running. It's also where the offices for Triangle Professional Soccer are located.
WakeMed Soccer Park first opened in 2002. It was the home of the Carolina Courage, a women's soccer team. Today, it's the home field for North Carolina FC (a men's team) and the North Carolina Courage (a women's team). Both teams play in professional leagues. College teams like the NC State Wolfpack men's and women's soccer teams also play some games here. The park hosts many big tournaments, like the NCAA College Cup and high school state soccer finals.
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How WakeMed Soccer Park Was Built
WakeMed Soccer Park opened in May 2002. Back then, it was called State Capital Soccer Park. The park sits on a large area of land, about 150 acres. The state of North Carolina leases this land to Wake County.
The money to build the park came from taxes on hotel rooms and food in Wake County. This helped pay for the $14.5 million cost. In 2004, the Town of Cary took over running and maintaining the park. They later made an agreement to let Triangle Professional Soccer use the complex for soccer and lacrosse events.
Making the Park Bigger
In November 2011, the Town of Cary started a big project to make the park even better. They spent $6.3 million to add more seats and buildings.
The stadium, which used to have 7,000 seats, got 3,000 new permanent seats. Some of these seats were added to the north end of the stadium. Others were placed in new upper-level stands on the east side.
A new three-story building was also built on the east side. This building has restrooms and places to buy snacks. It also provides easy access to the new seating areas. The locker rooms for the teams were moved to the ground floor of this new building. This means players can get to the field directly from their locker rooms.
Who Named the Park?
The name of the soccer park has changed a few times over the years. When it first opened, a software company called SAS Institute had the naming rights. This meant the park was known as SAS Soccer Park until June 2007.
On September 27, 2007, WakeMed Health & Hospitals bought the naming rights. They paid $300,000 each year for this. So, starting January 1, 2008, the complex became known as "WakeMed Soccer Park."
Later, on March 31, 2017, a company called Sahlen Packing Company bought the naming rights for the main stadium. This made the stadium "Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park." Sahlen's paid $400,000 over five years for this. In December 2024, First Horizon Bank purchased the naming rights for the main stadium. It is now called "First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park."
Exciting Events at the Park
WakeMed Soccer Park has hosted many important and fun events. Here are some of them:
- 2002 US men's soccer team World Cup Training Camp
- 2003 WUSA All-Star Game
- 2003 NCAA Women's College Cup
- 2006 US men's soccer team played against Jamaica
- 2006 US women's soccer team played against Canada
- 2007 El Salvador played against Honduras in a friendly match
- 2011 US women's soccer team played against Japan
- 2017 United States women's national soccer team played against South Korea
- 2018 United States men's national soccer team played against Paraguay
- 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship Group A games
- 2019 Women's International Champions Cup
- NWSL Championship
- The Soccer Tournament 2023
- 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship semifinals and final
- The Soccer Tournament 2024
Cross-Country Running Course
The park is also a popular spot for cross-country races. Many high school events take place here. These include local meets, championship races, and regional competitions.
The cross-country course starts and finishes behind the practice fields. It runs around the edges of the park. Runners often achieve their personal best times on this course. This is true even with a challenging hill that they have to run up twice! The fastest time ever recorded for the 5k distance on this course is 14 minutes and 32.2 seconds. This record was set by Brodey Hasty in 2016.
See also
In Spanish: WakeMed Soccer Park para niños
