Orange County NC Website
Fj . <br /> Anson Dorrance , coach of the multiple NCAA champion UNC - CH women ' s soccer team , <br /> presented a brief history of soccer in the region . According to Dorrance , soccer in Orange <br /> County dates to the birth of Rainbow Soccer in the early 1970 ' s . In fact , as Dorrance noted , <br /> " . . . all soccer in the state of North Carolina stems from Chapel Hill . " But , he argued , the local <br /> preeminence has faded as the Capital Area Soccer League and other organizations developed <br /> the practice fields and, game complexes to support the growing demand . He noted that the <br /> annual " Raleigh Shoot Out" soccer tournament generates $ 6 . 5 million direct )9 g y ( in hotel and <br /> restaurant revenues , admissions , visitor purchases , etc ) and another $ 2 . 5 million indirectly ( in <br /> support services for the event) . " Chapel Hill and Orange County have name recognition as <br /> pioneers in the field of soccer , " Dorrance noted . " Now we need to step up and build fields to <br /> support the game . " He argued that the sport has tremendous economic development impact <br /> potential and that as many fields as could be built would be fully utilized . <br /> Following Dorrance and the presentation of information gathered to date , a panel of <br /> representatives from the soccer leagues addressed the audience , which included approximately <br /> 75 attendees , <br /> Patrick Sullivan , filling in for Vicky Brawley of Rainbow Soccer , noted that , in the past , the <br /> county has not been asked to address soccer needs because private organizations have been <br /> filling the gap . That is no longer feasible ; given current demand , Rainbow has an immediate <br /> need for 15 -20 practice fields . <br /> Fred Kull H spoke on behalf of the Durham /Chapel el it p p I Strikers .. He noted that the Strikers rent <br /> fields wherever available , spending approximately $ 20 , 000 per year on rentals and contributions <br /> to maintenance . He stated that the critical need is for lighted practice fields available between <br /> the hours of 6 p . m . and 8 * 30 . He also noted that there are no fields of high enough quality to <br /> serve as match fields in either Orange or Durham County , <br /> George Alley spoke for Carolina United ( now Triangle Futbol ) . Alley pointed out that the Capital <br /> Area Soccer League has become the " sole proprietor . of soccer in Wake County . While not <br /> supporting the creation of one single entity , Alley argued that the private soccer groups in the <br /> county should be given a chance to develop a tournament complex , consisting of & 16 fields . <br /> He suggested that the county might assist in that effort by providing the land . <br /> Mauricio Castro spoke on behalf of various Latino teams in the county -- teams no longer <br /> organized as a league . According to Castro , there is such a tremendous demand for fields that <br /> they all tend to be in very poor shape from overuse . He stated that there are & 7 Latino teams <br /> in the county and that they are forced to drive long distances to play ( if, indeed , they have <br /> access to a car) . He also stated that there are about 40 Hispanic teams in Chatham County . <br /> According to Castro , soccer can help bridge cultures through sport and provides an inexpensive <br /> recreational opportunity . <br /> The last portion of the program was an open mike session , in which audience members were <br /> permitted to express their views on the sport . One speaker pointed out that the statistics on <br /> participation are somewhat misleading because a large number of people ( adults as well as <br /> children ) are not in organized soccer programs but still love the game and want to play . Another <br /> speaker pointed out that adult women need fields on which to play recreationally . Yet another <br /> speaker addressed the fact that he had gotten to know a large number of Latinos through <br /> soccer; "These individuals are no longer the other , " he said . He argued that soccer is a <br /> democratic sport because it doesn ' t require a great deal of expensive equipment . <br />