Collegiate Rugby Sevens Championship to remain at PPL

BY ALEX LEE, Daily News Staff Writer
Posted: June 05, 2012

NBC SPORTS and USA Sevens officials see big things for the future of the Collegiate Rugby Championship, and they say that begins with the stability provided by a multiyear agreement with PPL Park.

Over the weekend, officials announced an agreement to extend the tournament’s stay on the Chester waterfront through 2014. PPL Park, home of the Union, has hosted the event for the last 2 years after the inaugural event was held at Columbus (Ohio) Crew Stadium.

"When there is year-to-year uncertainty you are enjoying it, but you’re not invested in planning for the long term," tournament director Dan Lyle said. "Now, we can really do that."

Between New York and Washington, Philadelphia is in the middle of "the heartland of rugby," Lyle said. The unofficial attendance figure for the Saturday-Sunday tournament was 18,149, a slight increase from the 17,894 that attended over the 2 days last year.

Officials turned away teams to keep the field at 16, but the competition committee is considering expansion.

"I think what we’ve found is that people like this and they want to watch it and they want to participate," Lyle said.

While enlarging the field to 24 teams and extending the event to 3 days are two enhancements the committee has in mind, Lyle said he sees the event remaining at PPL Park.

"So do we add some more teams to add more flavor, which would get more people visiting Philadelphia? That is definitely something we are going to consider," he said. "But we will be sitting down afterward and figuring out ways to solidify it for 10 more years, not just two."

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