WakeMed Soccer Park facts for kids
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| Former names | State Capital Soccer Park (2001–2002) SAS Soccer Park (2002–2007) |
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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 | |
| Carolina Courage (WUSA) (2001–2003) NC State Wolfpack (NCAA) (2002–2007) North Carolina FC (USLC); (USL1) (2007–present) Raleigh Flyers (AUDL) (2015–present) North Carolina Courage (NWSL) (2017–present) North Carolina FC U23 (USL2) (2002–2009, 2011–present) |
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| Website | |
| https://www.townofcary.org/recreation-enjoyment/facilities/wakemed-soccer-park | |
WakeMed Soccer Park is a big soccer complex in Cary, North Carolina, United States. It first opened in 2002. Back then, it was the home of the Carolina Courage women's soccer team. Today, it's the home field for two professional soccer teams: North Carolina FC (a men's team) and the North Carolina Courage (a women's team).
Some teams from NC State also play games here. The park often hosts important soccer tournaments. These include the NCAA College Cup, the ACC Soccer Championships, and high school state soccer finals.
The soccer complex has a main stadium built just for soccer. It also has two practice fields with lights and four more fields. The main stadium and the two lighted fields are all the right size for international games. The main stadium can hold 10,000 people. Field 2 also has 1,000 seats for fans.
The park also has a special course for cross-country running. It's known as a great place for races. The offices for Triangle Professional Soccer are also located here.
For a while, a software company called SAS Institute had the rights to name the park. This ended in 2007. Then, WakeMed Health & Hospitals bought the naming rights. So, since January 1, 2008, the park has been called WakeMed Soccer Park.
In 2017, Sahlen Packing Company bought the naming rights for the main stadium. This means the main stadium is now called Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Contents
Building the Park
WakeMed Soccer Park opened in May 2002. It was first known as State Capital Soccer Park. The park is built on a large area of land. The state of North Carolina leased this land to Wake County.
The money to build the park came from taxes. These taxes were collected on hotel rooms and food in Wake County. In 2004, the Town of Cary took over running and maintaining the park.
Park Upgrades in 2011
In November 2011, the Town of Cary started a big project. They spent $6.3 million to make the park even better. This project added 3,000 new seats to the stadium. Some seats went to the north end, and others were added to the east side.
A new three-story building was also built on the east side. This building has restrooms and places to buy food. It also gives access to the new seats. The locker rooms for the teams were moved to the ground floor. This lets players get to the field easily from their buses.
Cool Events at the Park
WakeMed Soccer Park has hosted many exciting events over the years. These include:
- Training camps for the U.S. men's national soccer team.
- International friendly matches between different countries.
- The WUSA All-Star Game.
- Many NCAA College Cup championships for both men's and women's soccer.
- ACC Soccer Championships.
- The USL First Division All-Star Game.
- Games for the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL).
- Matches for the NWSL Championship.
- The 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship Group A games.
- The 2019 Women's International Champions Cup.
Cross-Country Running
The park also has a well-known course for cross-country running. Many high school races are held here. These include local championships and regional meets. The course starts and ends near the practice fields. It runs around the edge of the park. Runners often get their best times here. This is true even with a tough hill they have to run twice. The fastest time for the 5k distance on this course is 14 minutes and 32.2 seconds. This record was set by Brodey Hasty in 2016. The park has also hosted the Atlantic Coast Conference's cross-country championship.
| Events and Tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Home Depot Center Hermann Stadium Pizza Hut Park PPL Park |
Men's College Cup host 2005 2007 2009 2014 |
Succeeded by Hermann Stadium Pizza Hut Park Harder Stadium Children's Mercy Park |
| Preceded by Mike A. Myers Stadium Aggie Soccer Stadium Aggie Soccer Stadium Aggie Soccer Stadium Torero Stadium FAU Stadium Orlando City Stadium |
Women's College Cup host 2003–2004 2006 2008 2010 2013 2015 2018 |
Succeeded by Aggie Soccer Stadium Aggie Soccer Stadium Aggie Soccer Stadium KSU Soccer Stadium FAU Stadium Avaya Stadium Avaya Stadium |
See also
In Spanish: WakeMed Soccer Park para niños
