Beer City Cup 2017 - biggest adult soccer event in the US

 

All eyes (and feet) in Asheville will be directed towards the John B. Lewis Soccer Complex and Memorial Stadium over Labor Day weekend. The 8th annual Beer City Cup adult soccer tournament once again brings some of the most skilled and talented adult soccer teams to Asheville. With their legendary semi-finals and finals at Memorial Stadium on Labor Day Sunday  (Sept 3), this year, the Beer City Cup is now the biggest adult soccer event in the US!

Twenty five U.S. cities from ten states, including Los Angeles, CA and London, England, will send 98 of their best amateur teams to compete for $12,000 worth of total cash prizes. Teams can enter the following divisions: Co-Ed and Men's Open, Women’s Open, Men's Over 30, Over 40, Over 50 and Over 55. The event is organized each year by David Turner and Eric Usher in partnership with Asheville-Buncombe Adult Soccer Association and the North Carolina Adult Soccer Association. A portion of the proceeds from the event will go towards various charitable causes, including the Buncombe County Special Olympics, Guardian ad Litem, ABASA and Western North Carolina Soccer Foundation.

Launched in 2010, the annual soccer event is now the premier adult soccer tournament in the Nation. This year, teams will arrive from FL, CA, VA, PA, NJ, KY, SC, GA, TN and NC. The family-friendly event is also the first of its kind in the Southeast that features a bounty of cash prizes along with great beer (only $2!) from local breweries. Admission to the finals on Sunday, Sept. 3 is free. Experiencing year over year growth, the 2017 event will welcome a record-breaking 98 teams.

Notable teams include: Old Wits from London, England; Shadows, a CoEd team, from Los Angeles, CA; 5-time Beer City Cup Open Champions, Blue Ion, Charleston, SC; Internationals FC from Newark, NJ; 2-time Beer City Cup CoEd Champions, Easy Riders, Raleigh, NC; 3-time Beer City Cup Over 30 Champions, Wizards FC, Asheville, NC;  and Frienemies, 3-time Beer City Cup CoEd Champions.

This year’s breweries includes: Oskar Blues, Appalachian Brewing Co. Asheville Brewing Co., Catawba, Green Man, Highlands, Hi-Wire, Pisgah Brewing, Sierra Nevada and New Belgium.

 

"We are honored to have such an incredible field of teams! We’re pretty much maxed out in the soccer category, so we’re hoping Asheville will bring a crowd this year and cheer these teams on! We invite folks to check us out and watch some pretty exciting soccer and enjoy our area’s tastiest craft beers.” says Turner.

Asheville itself, voted numerous times as the Nation’s “Beer City Capitol” and named one of the “coolest places to live” in the country, is a prime location to host a soccer competition of this size, with many restaurants and breweries that visitors love to visit during the two-day event. According to the organizers' estimates, the economic impact of the tournament on Asheville will be over $250,000.