WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — Tens of thousands of people will visit Cary over the next six days. For the second year in a row, the town is hosting The Soccer Tournament (TST) at WakeMed Soccer Park as 48 men’s teams and eight women’s teams compete for two $1 million prizes.
New this year is an eight team, $1 million, winner-take-all women’s tournament headlined by Heather O’Reilly and the U.S. Women. Not only does this event have a massive economic impact for the area, but it’s also inspiring young female athletes.
“We’re here every night from like 4 to 9 and it’s just what we do. Their teammates and their parents are like family to us,” Mikel Bass, a parent and North Carolina Football Club coach, said.
Mikel Bass said she and her daughters live, eat and breathe soccer.
“I’ve been playing soccer since I can remember, probably like 3 years old. I started with just a church league,” Ashlyn Bass, a N.C. Courage Academy athlete, said.
Mikel Bass said she and her husband grew up playing the game. Now she coaches with North Carolina FC Youth. She says she’s loved seeing her girls learn leadership skills and confidence on the field.
“For them to learn to accept feedback. So from a coach, ‘Hey, this isn’t great. Let’s fix it.’ And how can they make that a positive thing and not always just like a negative thing,” Mikel Bass said.
She said they try and watch professional games any chance they get, so they were excited to hear The Soccer Tournament is returning to Cary for the second year.
“Especially in the women’s game, there’s not a lot of young girls that watch soccer on TV. There’s like a big disconnect. And so, I think for young women especially to be able to like go to a place and be eye level and see the girls and even sometimes speak to them after is like just huge,” Mikel Bass said.
It’s taken a lot to prepare WakeMed Soccer Park for the event, and Cary’s mayor says it’s expected to draw twice as many people as it did last year. Last year the teams played for a sold out crowd of 35,000 fans.
Preparations underway at WakeMed Soccer Park. (Spectrum News 1/Kyleigh Panetta)
“This year we’re going to have a show on ESPN. We expect 70,000 people. It’s a huge economic impact for us. We estimate that to be about $15 million this year,” Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said.
New this year is the eight team, $1 million, winner-take-all women’s tournament, which Ashlyn Bass says she’s pretty excited about.
“I think it’s pretty cool to give women a fair chance, because I know last year with this tournament, the women were competing with the men, which was hard for them. So I think it will be cool to see them have their own bracket and play for like a fair chance for the prize,” Ashlyn Bass said.
Mikel Bass said that in addition to the tournament speaks to the well deserved attention that female athletes are getting as a whole.
“Women’s sport in general, the opportunities are almost happening faster than we can keep up with. And so, I think for girls really that want it at any level can now find a really good place,” Mikel Bass said.
The Soccer Tournament kicks off Wednesday, June 5 and runs through Monday, June 10.