[the phantom]

Many grand arenas love to boast of being “the greatest”, “the biggest”, and “the most beautiful”, but it is possible that such claims will soon come to an end.

Three years ago in a backroom deal Gondor was awarded the opportunity to host the semis and finals of the 2010 and 2011 Arda Cups, with the possibility of an extension. The Cup Committee was tightlipped on the specifics of the plan, but inside sources managed to confirm that Gondor had promised the construction of a new and glorious stadium to host the event.

Even more tightlipped was the Gondor Cup Planning Committee however, and as the months passed no one was able to get a bead on any plans for a new arena, and there were certainly no obvious signs of construction around Minas Tirith (at least on the scale of a stadium).

And then came the announcement this past March- the new stadium was complete! An extremely surprised populace asked the obvious question- where? The answer- Amon Hen.

Some ingenious chap had been struck with the idea that the magic of “The Hill of Seeing” would be perfect for a stadium. Tests were conducted, and the results were fantastic! Even though the full magic of the hill only worked at the very top, there was a sort of trickle effect down the rest of the slope, and the farther up the hill a spectator was the greater ability he had to surpass his natural visionary abilities.

And so it was that the stadium was built in a rather lopsided fashion into the northeast slope of the hill. At the top of the eastern end of the arena guests could look directly down upon the falls of Rauros, while the northern edge of the arena was lapped by the waves of the lake. That half of the arena was of more average size, seating around 40,000. But as the stadium circled towards the southwest, the top rose higher and higher up Amon Hen, thus the seating capacity of that half of the stadium was a whopping 100,000, making the arena by far the largest ever constructed.

But the planning committee had not been content to merely toss up a large stadium- it was beautiful and interesting to boot. The stadium acted as a tribute to football throughout Middle-Earth, with each section featuring the architecture, décor, and adornments favored by a group of football fans from a different location in Arda. The walkways, restrooms, eateries, and entrances beneath the sections also reflected the theme, and thus one could experience a part of what it was like to attend a football match in Angband, Mirkwood, Mordor, Gondolin, etc all in one stadium.

In the final month before the Cup workers labored night and day to finish work on the inns, rentable homes, and pubs around the shores of the lake, as well as the dock at the foot of Rauros and the cunning lifts that had been constructed to quickly take guests up through the cliffs from the docks to the lake.

On a less football related note, the investors on the planning committee were hoping to permanently develop the area in order to come out ahead on the venture, and given the lovely setting they seemed likely to succeed, as the lake promised summer boating and swimming, and soon after the cup rafting trips on the Anduin and rock climbing ventures into the Emyn Muil were scheduled to commence. In addition, ski runs were said to be in the works on some of the higher hills for attracting winter tourists.