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the phantom · 07-27-2012, 06:03 PM

Lothlorien Set To Host

It had been some time since the Golden Wood had hosted Arda Cup games, and many felt a visit to Lothlorien was long overdue. The image of the stadium at Caras Galadhon was recognizable all over Middle Earth, built to resemble the surrounding forest. Pillars of smooth silver-grey supported soaring spans of blended green and silver, while the walkways were all the golden color of fallen leaves. And more often than not on game-days crews of elves went over the entire grounds sprinkling actual mallorn leaves on the ground, driving home the effect even more.

But if that wasn't enough, a true mallorn grew at each of the four corners of the stadium- some of the largest in the land. Their massive trunks rose up alongside the pillars, dwarfing them with their mighty girth. When they at last emerged above the top row of the arena, their boughs spread in all directions, and they stretched over several rows of seats inside the arena. Those seats which were not covered by the true mallorns were given the same effect, with delightfully woven green and silver tarps stretching in various angular shapes across from height to height.

The capacity was not quite so great as some of the other football centers, but at 75,000 it certainly was enough to host. Ticket allotments had been sold through vendors affiliated with the visiting clubs, but it remained to be seen how many out-of-forest guests would show and how many seats would be left over for the locals, though probably at least 10,000 as that number had been reserved for sale at the home offices.

It was also unknown which squads would receive the most support. Erebor certainly had a shorter trip than FC Valinor, but the host elves might balance things out. And Minas Tirith and Eriador had a somewhat equal distance to travel, so that one could very well end up even.

Gondolin Also Prepared

It came as no surprise that the Hidden Kingdom was chosen as a neutral site host for the Arda Cup. There were few locations in Arda that could compete with Gondolin in terms of lodgings and facilities and sheer attraction as a travel destination.

The stadium was large and masterfully built- gleaming white and sitting on the edge of a cliff above the plains of Tumladen. Lodgings were all in close proximity to the arena, and there were plenty of them, though some fans would doubtless choose to rent cottages on the peaceful plains, or mountain cabins in the surrounding foothills. Though it would leave them with a tidy horse-ride to get to the match, the picturesque setting was well worth the extra effort.

The main path to Gondolin, coming in through abandoned stream tunnels to the southwest, was guarded well with several security checkpoints, but they kept traffic moving fairly well. The one or two treacherous paths from the northern mountains were unlikely to be attempted by anyone, but to be safe small contingents were patrolling, just in case any traveling parties were stranded- and making sure no trouble-makers were sneaking in illegal goods.

Locals were hoping that some extra tickets would be available to them, particularly in the case of Real Valinor versus Rohan, as both squads had some distance to travel. AC Beleriand however was almost guaranteed to show up in force, so extra home tickets were going to be tough to come by, which was unfortunate as AC featured three players with Gondolin ties- Ecthelion, Fingolfin, and Eol. Needless to say the stadium was likely to be on their side.

07-27-2012, 06:03 PM	#174
the phantom Beloved Shadow Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: The Stadium Posts: 5,987	Lothlorien Set To Host It had been some time since the Golden Wood had hosted Arda Cup games, and many felt a visit to Lothlorien was long overdue. The image of the stadium at Caras Galadhon was recognizable all over Middle Earth, built to resemble the surrounding forest. Pillars of smooth silver-grey supported soaring spans of blended green and silver, while the walkways were all the golden color of fallen leaves. And more often than not on game-days crews of elves went over the entire grounds sprinkling actual mallorn leaves on the ground, driving home the effect even more. But if that wasn't enough, a true mallorn grew at each of the four corners of the stadium- some of the largest in the land. Their massive trunks rose up alongside the pillars, dwarfing them with their mighty girth. When they at last emerged above the top row of the arena, their boughs spread in all directions, and they stretched over several rows of seats inside the arena. Those seats which were not covered by the true mallorns were given the same effect, with delightfully woven green and silver tarps stretching in various angular shapes across from height to height. The capacity was not quite so great as some of the other football centers, but at 75,000 it certainly was enough to host. Ticket allotments had been sold through vendors affiliated with the visiting clubs, but it remained to be seen how many out-of-forest guests would show and how many seats would be left over for the locals, though probably at least 10,000 as that number had been reserved for sale at the home offices. It was also unknown which squads would receive the most support. Erebor certainly had a shorter trip than FC Valinor, but the host elves might balance things out. And Minas Tirith and Eriador had a somewhat equal distance to travel, so that one could very well end up even. Gondolin Also Prepared It came as no surprise that the Hidden Kingdom was chosen as a neutral site host for the Arda Cup. There were few locations in Arda that could compete with Gondolin in terms of lodgings and facilities and sheer attraction as a travel destination. The stadium was large and masterfully built- gleaming white and sitting on the edge of a cliff above the plains of Tumladen. Lodgings were all in close proximity to the arena, and there were plenty of them, though some fans would doubtless choose to rent cottages on the peaceful plains, or mountain cabins in the surrounding foothills. Though it would leave them with a tidy horse-ride to get to the match, the picturesque setting was well worth the extra effort. The main path to Gondolin, coming in through abandoned stream tunnels to the southwest, was guarded well with several security checkpoints, but they kept traffic moving fairly well. The one or two treacherous paths from the northern mountains were unlikely to be attempted by anyone, but to be safe small contingents were patrolling, just in case any traveling parties were stranded- and making sure no trouble-makers were sneaking in illegal goods. Locals were hoping that some extra tickets would be available to them, particularly in the case of Real Valinor versus Rohan, as both squads had some distance to travel. AC Beleriand however was almost guaranteed to show up in force, so extra home tickets were going to be tough to come by, which was unfortunate as AC featured three players with Gondolin ties- Ecthelion, Fingolfin, and Eol. Needless to say the stadium was likely to be on their side. __________________ the phantom has posted. This thread is now important.