7. Alaska Dome — Anchorage, Alaska
It's not uncommon to see soccer and track share a venue. It is uncommon to see that in an indoor venue. The harsh Alaska weather pushes prep sports indoors sometimes, and the Alaska Dome can handle both.
Photo courtesy of the Alaska Dome
In
Anchorage, the term "indoor soccer" doesn't mean a tiny field with
walls and no out-of-bounds calls, like it does it most other areas. It
means that the unforgiving Alaska weather has an oppressive hold on all
the outdoor fields.
That weather also stifles other sports, so
the Alaska Dome is where prep sports go when the snow, ice, rain, wind
and temperatures make venues unplayable. The average high temperature is
below freezing four months of the year in Anchorage with an average of
16 inches of rain and nearly 60 inches of snow every year, which means
outdoor events are at the mercy of the weather report.
"It's been a great thing for soccer players," Chugiak High girls soccer
coach Paul Brehmer said. "All games are in the dome until turf fields
are cleared by the school districts."
Chief Executive Officer Alice Federenko said
Service (Anchorage),
South (Anchorage),
East (Anchorage),
Bartlett (Anchorage),
West (Anchorage),
Eagle River,
Chugiak (Eagle River) and
Dimond (Anchorage)
have played home soccer games in the facility. Also, the Al-Aska Shrine
Football All-Star Game comes to the Alaska Dome every October.
Track
is the other big high school sport at The Dome. The rubber track is 400 meters long but has six
lanes, compared to eight at most tracks. There is also space for all the field events as well.
Indoor
soccer and track make the venue unique. And as a building, it's also in
a class of its own. The Alaska Dome is North America's largest
structure of its kind, measuring 601 feet by 290 feet and 87.5 feet
tall.
Continue reading
