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Lacrosse Tournament Finds Excellent Home In Wesley Chapel

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 9, 2008

The Dick's Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions, which featured some of the best high school club lacrosse teams in North America fighting it out for the national championship in Wesley Chapel last weekend, doesn't need to look for another site next year.

It has already found the ideal home: Wesley Chapel District Park.

Judging from the accounts of coaches, tournament organizers and others, the two-day tournament, held in Pasco County for the first time, was a huge success. Not only in terms of play and overall enjoyment, but also in organization, accommodations and facilities.

Need proof? Consider these comments:

"I talked with a bunch of teams, and they all said the organization was great and they enjoyed coming here," Tampa Tribe coach Tom FitzSimons told Tribune correspondent Chris Errington. "The site is unbelievable, and there's definitely more room for growth here, not just for teams but the number of fields.

"We hope to just keep this tournament growing and growing. We definitely want to keep it here for many years to come."

Said Josh Gross, an official with National Development Program Lacrosse: "In a lot of ways, this was the best lacrosse fans have seen at this age level. Lots of players have Division I and maybe professional futures, and I think the fans appreciated watching play at that level. ... I can't imagine the event not being here next year."

For a sporting event - no matter the level - the reviews don't get any better than that.

And after a brief cold spell, the weather cooperated, too - yet another reason to keep the tournament here. Where would you rather be playing sports outside in January - Pennsylvania, where the tournament was held last year, or on Florida's Gulf Coast?

For Pasco and Wesley Chapel, the outlook is tremendous. Gross expects that the economic impact from the 25-team tournament, to be analyzed soon, will be "staggering."

And next year's tournament may be even better: Gross says a third day will probably be added, adding to the economic impact.

It's clear that Pasco tourism officials and the Wesley Chapel Athletic Association scored big-time with a fantastic event - showing they are serious players in their bid to land more sporting events. They should be proud.

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