Cary lands coveted NCAA ‘host site’ status for men’s, women’s soccer, Division II baseball
As the North Carolina and Wake Forest women’s soccer teams prepared to play for a national title at Cary’s WakeMed Soccer Park on Monday night, the NCAA announced the College Cup would be coming back again. And again. And again.
The NCAA on Monday named Cary as the host site for future men’s and women’s College Cups through 2028. It also named the USA Baseball training complex as the host site for the Division II World Series, an event Cary has hosted in all but one year since 2009, making it the Omaha of Division II baseball. That agreement runs through 2038.
Cary is hosting both the men’s and the women’s College Cups this year and the men’s finals next year. In October, the NCAA awarded both the men’s and women’s College Cups to Cary in 2026 and 2027. Monday’s new agreement only extends that by a year, with WakeMed hosting one or both in 2028, but with the intention to extend that through 2038 as well.
The town’s ground lease on the soccer-park land expires in the summer of 2029, so legally there’s nothing Cary can do until that lease is extended or the land is purchased from the state.
For the Town of Cary and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, Monday’s announcement was the conclusion of a decade-long quest to secure host-city status for both events. This specific proposal was submitted to the NCAA in the summer of 2022; the first was sent in 2010.
“We’ve been talking about it for what seems like forever,” said William Davis, the sports venues manager for the Town of Cary. “We’ve been consistently hosting D2 baseball and the men’s and women’s College Cup year after year. Why not get a commitment on both ends to do something long term?”
The NCAA cited a “proven track record of successfully hosting NCAA events” in announcing the new host sites, along with Orlando for tennis and Gulf Shores, Ala., for beach volleyball. The relationship between Cary and the NCAA took on a new depth in the spring of 2021, when the NCAA asked Cary to host the entirety of both men’s and women’s tournaments, a total of 82 games, within the state of North Carolina and primarily in Cary.
And by hosting the College Cup alongside large NCFC Youth tournaments, Cary has been able to fill WakeMed on a regular basis when other sites have struggled to sell as many tickets. In addition to ongoing cooperation with North Carolina FC and USA Baseball, North Carolina (soccer) and Mount Olive (baseball) committed as long-term host schools as well.
“The commitment to invest and support these championships in terms of facilities, staffing, marketing and more were integral data points to our decision-making process,” Anthony Homan, the NCAA’s vice president of championships and alliances, said in a statement. “We feel the efficiency of scale that can be realized with these long-term commitments between the NCAA and our hosts provides an opportunity for more enhancement of these championships, leading to an increased student-athlete and fan experience moving forward.”
In return for the NCAA’s commitment, Cary agreed to replace the video board at WakeMed Soccer Park and upgrade the locker rooms, while adding a video board at the USA Baseball complex. Davis said it had yet to be determined whether that would be a permanent fixture or just temporary for the tournament.
“We have been submitting bids during their bid cycles every two to four years and constantly getting awarded,” Davis said. “That’s a really good feeling. But for them to say ‘We want to be here for a while,’ it just reinforces the relationship with the NCAA.”
This story was originally published December 9, 2024 at 3:04 PM.
