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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA The Virginia men’s lacrosse team will face North Carolina in the inaugural Big City Classic, a college lacrosse tripleheader organized by Inside Lacrosse magazine, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on April 4, 2009.
The Cavaliers and Tar Heels are scheduled to faceoff at noon in the day’s first game. They will be followed by Syracuse vs. Princeton at 2:30 pm and Hofstra/Delaware at 5 pm.
The Big City Classic places some of the elite names in lacrosse on the big stage of Giants Stadium, with New York City providing a unique backdrop. The six teams involved are worthy of the big stage. They have advanced to the NCAA semifinals a combined 67 times, winning 24 NCAA championships. All six programs have entered into a two-year commitment for the Big City Classic.
This is the third consecutive year the Cavaliers will participate in a major regular-season lacrosse event. The past two years they have defeated Syracuse in the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Classic at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium.
“The University of Virginia is very excited to be involved in this inaugural Big City Classic,” said Virginia head coach Dom Starsia. “The opportunity to actually play the first lacrosse game in the Meadowlands, to bring two top ACC lacrosse teams to the New York City market and to expose the game for old and new fans alike is an important moment for our players and for the sport. Bob Carpenter, Andy Bilello and the staff at Inside Lacrosse have worked very hard to make this happen and we are proud to be partners in such a bold initiative.”
Carpenter, publisher of Inside Lacrosse, is excited about the event. “For the past three years, Inside Lacrosse has been committed to creating events that will expose fans to the energy and passion of college lacrosse,” he said. “One of the glaring absences our sport’s had to date, is that the top level of Division I men’s lacrosse has never been played on the doorstep of New York City. This is the No. 1 media market in the world. To showcase the sport on such a big stage, we knew we had to bring together as much talent as possible. With the combination of these programs, we feel we’re bringing to the New York metropolitan area one of the strongest lineups ever assembled.”
Ticket prices for the Big City Classic will be $15 for group purchases of 10 or more, $25 for lower level reserved seats and $40 for mezzanine level reserved seats at Giants Stadium. Tickets for the Big City Classic are scheduled to go on sale December 1, 2008.
Virginia opens its season at home against Drexel on Feb. 14.