October 31, 2007
They're coming to play
In the last five years, Cary has welcomed an increasing number of high-profile sporting events.
By Tim Candon, Sports Editor - Cary News
Only time will tell if the new administration manages it better (or worse depending on your voting persuasion) than the previous one.
While the pro- and anti-growth crowds argue their talking points, one byproduct of Cary's growth that has been an undeniable success is the town's foray into staging major sporting events.
Events such as the SAS Championship and the NCAA College Cup have pumped tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars into the local economy. Events keep coming back to Cary's venues, those owned and operated by the town and those that are privately owned, because all have proven to put on first-class shows.
A mostly new development over the last decade, Cary has welcomed collegiate and professional golf tournaments; collegiate, professional and international soccer matches; collegiate and international baseball; collegiate cross country championships; and collegiate tennis championships.
But just how did Cary, which rests in the nation's 28th largest media market as defined by Neilsen Media Research, come to be the home - albeit a part-time one in some cases - of so many athletic events?
"The most important piece is planning, making sure we are keeping up with our plans," said Mary Henderson, Cary's director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources. "That's what we've been known for. We're trying to have vision and to make certain it's a public process. Let the possibilities be there."
Evolutions
Twenty years ago, town officials didn't set out a long-range strategic plan that would make Cary the sports destination it has become, but they haven't exactly flown by the seat of their pants, either.
In planning the parks system, the town wanted to incorporate venues that would attract major events and serve the community at the same time, Henderson said.
The Cary Tennis Center is a perfect example. Open since 2000, it now features 30 courts and has hosted events such as the USTA's Southern Regional and National Campus Championship, as well as the Atlantic Coast Conference men's and women's tournaments. It also provides private lessons, group clinics, leagues and organized play to the public for a small fee.
While some events have been around for years - the Intercollegiate golf tournament dates back to 1990 and the PGA Tour stopped at MacGregor Downs in the early 1970s - the majority have found their way to Cary in the last few years.
Events began to become regular occurrences in 2002, when SAS Soccer Park opened. While that complex opened earlier this decade, its roots, and thus the current sports landscape in Cary, trace back to the late 1980s.
Hill Carrow, the CEO of Sports & Properties Inc., a sports and entertainment marketing and sports development company based in Raleigh, has in some way been involved in almost everything that has come online in Cary in the last 20 years.
After the 1987 U.S. Olympic Festival that was staged throughout the Triangle, Carrow and several associates had an idea for a regional, centralized sports complex. The facility would start with soccer and baseball stadiums. Additions such as a track or aquatics center could be added later.
The complex never materialized for a number of reasons, Carrow said. The $10 million that was raised via a Wake County hospitality tax went unused until plans for what is now SAS Soccer Park were drawn up.
The state kicked in an additional $5 million for the project, and the park now sits on 150 acres in east Cary and features a 7,000-seat stadium and seven full-sized practice fields. It is owned by the state of North Carolina, subleased to Wake County and maintained by the Town of Cary.
The WUSA's Carolina Courage played there for the 2002 and 2003 seasons and averaged more than 5,000 fans per game during those two years.
The U.S. men's national soccer team trained there in preparation for the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups.
In 2003, Cary, in conjunction with N.C. State, the Capital Area Soccer League and the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, hosted the NCAA College Cup for the first time. The men or women have since returned every year and will continue to do so through 2009.
Last summer, a USL First Division expansion team was placed in Cary, and the Carolina RailHawks completed a successful first season in September. Chris Economides, the RailHawks' president and general manager, has said he knew he found his franchise's home when he pulled onto Soccer Park Drive and caught a glimpse of the facility on a scouting visit.
Right place, right time
As SAS Soccer Park proved its worth as an attractive venue, it opened the door for more to come online.
When USA Baseball officials toured Cary in spring 2002 as a possible place to relocate, the national soccer team was training in town at the same time.
"That kind of further validated the attractiveness of the market for them," Carrow said.
The original plans for Thomas Brooks Park did not call for the USA Baseball complex. After USA Baseball's initial visit to Cary, the town amended the park's plan, then swept the organization off its feet with its proposal. The $11 million USA Baseball National Training Complex opened earlier this summer, and it is the home for all USA Baseball teams. It features a main stadium with seating for close to 2,000 and three practice fields. USA Baseball and Cary jointly operate the facility.
A cursory glance might suggest Cary has simply been in the right place at the right time.
The Carolina Courage were originally supposed to play in Florida. While plans called for a team to be placed here in 2002, it came a year early because officials couldn't secure a home field in Orlando. The Courage played their first year in Chapel Hill while SAS Soccer Park was under construction.
The SAS Championship, the Champions Tour event played each year since 2001 at Prestonwood, found its way onto the schedule after tour officials had to find a replacement for a September tournament in Atlanta that lost its sponsorship.
While the town had little control over the demise of events in other locales, Henderson noted that Cary was in a position to take all of them on because it had the facilities and infrastructure to do so.
"It's a little bit of a strategic plan, and some happenstance," Carrow said. "All of it comes from the same intuitive, if not strategic, feel that these types of facilities are a great fit for a community that has tried to develop the quality it has in Cary. As some came about early on, the rest have been able to follow as a natural extensions."
Though some events have fallen into Cary's lap, they've all thrived.
"The area, the RDU area, is the size of community the Champions Tour typically succeeds in," said Jeff Kleiber, the SAS Championship tournament director. "That was part of it. Knowing at that point [in 2001], it was just the [NHL's Carolina] Hurricanes as it relates to professional sports, it allowed you to believe some type of additional pro sports in this town would have a chance to succeed."
The SAS Championship has become one of the most popular events on the Champions Tour for players, Kleiber said. Players praise the tournament for Prestonwood's playing conditions, the purse and the overall manner in which everything is managed.
Reasons for success
As varied as all of the events are, part of their success stems from their place on the calendar. Few of their dates overlap, so people rarely have to choose one over another.
USA Baseball teams occupy the training center off and on from June to August. The SAS Championship is in late September or early October. The RailHawks' season runs from mid April to early September. The ACC soccer championships are in mid-November, and the College Cup is in mid-December.
An additional benefit is the town's, and by extension Wake County's, infrastructure. SAS Soccer Park in east Cary is only a few miles from I-40, I-440, as well as U.S. 1 and U.S. 64.
The USA Baseball Complex is located off N.C. 55 in west Cary. The proposed route of the next extension of I-540 would go right by the complex, making it more accessible, though residents in the area fear the complex will attract too much traffic.
And Raleigh-Durham International Airport is less than a 20-minute drive from every location (except during rush hour).
"The infrastructure is more than just the facility, but the ability to access them conveniently," Carrow said. "If people had to go way out or it was a hassle, that would weigh against events no matter how nice the facility was."
The Triangle Aquatic Center is now the latest high-profile venue to come online. The privately funded three-pool facility is set to open this weekend. It is located on Convention Drive, right off I-40's exit 291 behind Cary Towne Center. It has no immediate plans to feature any major collegiate events, but it will host high school meets and is in the process of bidding for some USA Swimming regional races.
Though it wasn't funded publicly, its mission is similar to that of the town's: to serve Wake County, but also to become a player in events hosting.
"This facility will be a destination venue for events," said Mike Curran, president of the TAC board. He anticipates holding State Games and Special Olympics events at the facility.
Looking ahead
TAC will undoubtedly help raise Cary's sports profile. If an additional, publicly funded facility is built, that will do the same. Town officials are still examining the possiblity of a second aquatics center.
The town will get another boost next winter and spring when it hosts the University of North Carolina baseball team.
The Tar Heels, the national runner-up the last two years, will play all of their home games at the USA Baseball complex at Brooks Park because their on-campus facility in Chapel Hill, Boshamer Stadium, is undergoing a $17-million renovation that won't be finished until the start of the 2009 season.
"The timing of that was perfect for both of us," Henderson said. "They needed a quality location. This was a quality location fairly close by."
The crowds and attention Carolina will attract, especially if they have great seasons like 2006 and 2007, will only bolster Cary's reputation and open it up for more events down the road.
"Cary really has truly developed into an amateur sports mecca," said Scott Dupree, the director of sports marketing for Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau. "They're branding themselves that way, and they've backed it up. Now, it's paying off big time."
Contact Tim Candon at 460-2606 or tcandon@nando.com.
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