ONLY SOCCER: RICHMOND STILL DID BEST ,,, AFTER 25 YEARS
Believe it or not … Richmond (city of) remains the runaway leader in attendance for the NCAA Division I men’s soccer final four … yet hasn’t held the event since 1999. It’s true. Starting in 1995, five of the top six crowds for the College Cup turned out at City Stadium … including a SRO of 21,319 for the ‘95 semifinals, second only to 22,512 that witnessed the 1980 final at 54,692-seat Busch Memorial Stadium, then home of the MLB St. Louis Cardinals and NFL Cardinals. In all, Richmond still has eight of the top 12 crowds … including an average of 20,651 for the top five. So, tell us, why did the NCAA leave the Capital City, never to return again? Well, for one thing the governing body decided … if little old Richmond, Va., could attract crowds of 20,000-plus, bigger venues could do much, much better. Wrong! The event went from here to Charlotte, N.C., and the home of the NFL Carolina Panthers, where 73,250 seats were left mos...