Photo credit: Jessica Jiamin Lang
Three cities were selected as finalists for the 2017 MLQ Championship in mid-February. Since that announcement, the MLQ team and its cohorts have spent the past month measuring fields, questioning cities and crunching numbers to see which finalist would be the best for the 2017 season-ending tournament.
After completing the process and the analysis that followed, MLQ is excited to announce it has chosen to return to League City’s Hometown Heroes Park on Aug. 12-13, 2017 to host its championship.
“We are looking forward to working with the City of League City once again,” said Melinda Staup, MLQ Events Director. “Our experience with the city and its staff in 2016 was everything we could have hoped for, and our communications with them so far this year have us expecting more of the same.”
Throughout the 2017 bid process, which started in November, League City and its staff showed the same combination of professionalism, excitement and commitment to the event that made them such strong partners a year ago.
League City’s top-notch facilities and generous bid offer, which will allow MLQ to put further resources into other aspects of the league such as equipment and referee payments, helped to push the city ahead of the other finalists.
Hometown Heroes Park will once again be the host site for the event. The park offers two full-sized soccer fields, as well as a small practice field, and players will have access to indoor space to escape the summer heat. All facilities at Hometown Heroes Park are well cared for, and the staff is excited to have the opportunity to further improve upon last year’s exceptional experience.
Additionally, League City was able to offer the weekend of Aug. 12-13, which should allow more scheduling leeway for the league’s players that begin their school year in late August.
“As an MLQ player, I understand the various needs of our constituents,” Staup said. “Our decision was first and foremost made with the players’s needs in mind. League City is a dynamic city with a lot to offer for the championship while also helping us to keep the personal cost for our players low in the season to come.”
Due to the change in championship scheduling, there will be some small edits to the regular season schedule announced in the near future. MLQ will also release a weather contingency plan prior to the event should thunderstorms become a threat, as was the case last season.
MLQ would like to thank Derek Hughes for his assistance and support in the bid evaluation process. We look forward to working with you, once again, in the coming months. We would also like to thank Lawrence, Kans. and Salt Lake City for their participation in the 2017 bid process. The 2018 MLQ Championship bid process will open in July 2017. If you would like to act as a liaison between MLQ and your local city, email MLQ Events Director Melinda Staup at [email protected].