By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 11/10/15
Reviews were strong last weekend when the Maple Zone Sports Village hosted its first major lacrosse event, the Adrenaline Fall Invitational.
The Sports Village, located at 4881 Chichester Road in Aston, featured five full-sized turf lacrosse fields (all will be lighted in the next few months). It also has two major league baseball fields, which can allow for expansion to seven youth lacrosse fields.
The Adrenaline event featured elite 2016 and 2017 teams in round robin format Saturday and Sunday (see story here). Teams from as far west as Washington as far north as Ontario and as far south as Georgia competed.
“Obviously, it’s a brand new beautiful facility with turf fields; there are not that many out there that are all turf. It’s fenced in and that all just makes it easy to run an event,” said Adrenaline Events Director Suzanne Keller, who played lacrosse at Great Valley. “The staff is great and you don’t get that everywhere.
“This fits Adrenaline. We like to put on top-level events and when you find facilities like that it helps you take your events to the next level.”
Keller said Adrenaline is considering holding several summer events in 2016 at the Sports Village.
“Pennsylvania in general is really great,” she said. “We work with a lot of teams on Long Island, Massachusetts and down into Virginia and Maryland. Being right here, with a central location, makes it so easy.
“It’s not far from the (Philadelphia) airport; it’s got hotels and shops and restaurants all around us. You can jump onto a couple highways and be in a different place. It’s convenient for a lot of teams and we want to make it so they have to travel too far. It’s a neat place to be.”
Maple Zone lacrosse director Cory Malampy was excited to host the first event at the Village, which has a facility for concessions and indoor bathroom.
“It’s very exciting stuff,” he said on Saturday. “The college coaches (more than 40) are having a good time, the kids are having a great time. The weather is holding out. There was a little rain in the morning, but it didn’t slow us down. There was no slipping or sliding.
“We are looking for forward to a nice working relationship with Adrenaline moving forward. There are some exciting things to come. So many teams are close to Philly; and the airport is nearby. It’s a premier facility for premier events.”
LB3 Atlanta Founder/Director Liam Banks, whose Phillie Elite program is based in Philly, also enjoyed his first event at the Village. “It’s my first time seeing it. Coming down the highway and passing the airport you are wondering where you are headed and then you see it’s a great complex with turf fields.
“It’s excellent for events and a great place to play. They’ve done really nice job and the ability to have games close so college coaches don’t have to motor around is great. It’s a closer feel than some of other tournaments really.”
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