Soccer Symposium Task Force Report

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Anson Dorrance, coach of the multiple NCAA champion UNC-CH women's soccer team, presented a brief history of soccer in the region. According to Dorrance, soccer in Orange County dates to the birth of Rainbow Soccer in the early 1970's. In fact, as Dorrance noted, "...all soccer in the state of North Carolina stems from Chapel Hill." But, he argued, the local preeminence has faded as the Capital Area Soccer League and other organizations developed the practice fields and game complexes to support the growing demand. He noted that the annual "Raleigh Shoot Out" soccer tournament generates $6.5 million directly (in hotel and restaurant revenues, admissions, visitor purchases, etc) and another$2.5 million indirectly (in support services for the event). "Chapel Hill and Orange County have name recognition as pioneers in the field of soccer," Dorrance noted. "Now we need to step up and build fields to support the game." He argued that the sport has tremendous economic development impact potential and that as many fields as could be built would be fully utilized. Following Dorrance and the presentation of information gathered to date, a panel of representatives from the soccer leagues addressed the audience, which included approximately 75 attendees. Patrick Sullivan, filling in for Vicky Brawley of Rainbow Soccer, noted that, in the past, the county has not been asked to address soccer needs because private organizations have been filling the gap. That is no longer feasible; given current demand, Rainbow has an immediate need for 15-20 practice fields. Fred Kull spoke on behalf of the Durham/Chapel Hill Strikers. He noted that the Strikers rent fields wherever available, spending approximately$20,000 per year on rentals and contributions to maintenance. He stated that the critical need is for lighted practice fields available between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8:30. He also noted that there are no fields of high enough quality to serve as match fields in either Orange or Durham County. George Alley spoke for Carolina United (now Triangle Futbol). Alley pointed out that the Capital Area Soccer League has become the "sole proprietor" of soccer in Wake County. While not supporting the creation of one single entity, Alley argued that the private soccer groups in the county should be given a chance to develop a tournament complex, consisting of 8-16 fields. He suggested that the county might assist in that effort by providing the land. Mauricio Castro spoke on behalf of various Latino teams in the county -- teams no longer organized as a league. According to Castro, there is such a tremendous demand for fields that they all tend to be in very poor shape from overuse. He stated that there are 6-7 Latino teams in the county and that they are forced to drive long distances to play (if, indeed, they have access to a car). He also stated that there are about 40 Hispanic teams in Chatham County. According to Castro, soccer can help bridge cultures through sport and provides an inexpensive recreational opportunity. The last portion of the program was an open mike session, in which audience members were permitted to express their views on the sport. One speaker pointed out that the statistics on participation are somewhat misleading because a large number of people (adults as well as children) are not in organized soccer programs but still love the game and want to play. Another speaker pointed out that adult women need fields on which to play recreationally. Yet another speaker addressed the fact that he had gotten to know a large number of Latinos through soccer; "These individuals are no longer the other," he said. He argued that soccer is a democratic sport because it doesn't require a great deal of expensive equipment.