Village of Glendale Breaks Ground on New International Stadium

The
Village of
Glendale officially broke ground on its new international rugby stadium,
Infinity
Park
at the

Village of

Glendale. The 5,000-seat
stadium will be the first municipally owned rugby facility built in the

United States.
Glendale is the first town in the country to adopt
Rugby as its official sport.

“So many
cities are doing things to support other sports like soccer and softball. We
decided to support rugby – the world’s second-largest spectator sport – by
building a stadium large enough to even hold international contests,” said
Glendale Mayor Larry Harte. “Over a dozen languages are spoken throughout

Glendale; we are truly an
international city.
Rugby is played in nearly
every country in the world; it is truly an international sport. The more we
learned about rugby, the more it seemed like a good fit for

Glendale.”

Mike
Dunafon, Mayor Pro Tem of
Glendale, an avid
rugby enthusiast, said, “
Infinity
Park will make

Glendale
a destination for new businesses and residents.

Infinity
Park
gives an anchor to the notion of urban revitalization and develops an overall
lift to the city with a new, exciting and progressive identity.”

“This
development will bring in multiple businesses and services and provide yet
another reason for people to visit for shopping, dining and events,” said
Harte. “
Infinity
Park
will provide a unique value to both current and future residents and businesses
in

Glendale.”

Infinity

Park
will be used for local, national
and international rugby matches and events, playoff games and youth rugby
programs. In addition, the stadium can add an additional 8,000 seats to the
field and is ideal for local community gatherings like concerts, fireworks
shows, outdoor fundraising events and festivals. Adjacent to the stadium will
be a state-of-the-art
Recreation
Center,
Events

Center, and
Community

Park which will be available for use
by all

Glendale
residents.

The
project began construction in February 2007. The stadium is expected to be
completed by fall 2007 and the remaining facilities by spring 2008.
Opportunities to help defray construction costs of the stadium are being
generated through naming rights for the stadium, the Events Center, the Rugby
Club, the Rugby Hall of Fame, Jumbotron, stadium lights, flagpoles and parking
lots which are all available for sponsorship opportunities.

Rugby
is the second most popular sport in the world behind only
soccer. Rugby is believed to have started at the
Rugby

School in

Rugby,
England,
around 1750. According to International Rugby Board figures, rugby is being
played in over 100 countries spanning six continents by men and women of all
ages.