[the phantom]

When Gondolin won the bid to host games during the Arda Cup 2009, there was much debate about the stadium. All of the craftsmen and artisans agreed that something special should be built for the occasion, but they differed upon what.

One camp supported a brand new stadium built upon the plains surrounding the great hill of rock, but a larger camp supported some sort of renovation to the old historic stadium which sat halfway up the southern side of the dome of rock.

In the end it was the old winning over the new, and thousands of workers set to the task of bettering their ancient venue. As the stadium was built perched on a hill and in the midst of a city, there was no way to push it outward. The only way to increase seating would be to choose more efficient angles and get rid of decorative space and add some luxury boxes to the top- and that's just what they did!

And with the removal of space and decoration from the inside, the artisans set to work on the outside of the stadium, designing great arches and fountains on the roads leading to the stadium, and refinishing the walls of every home and business along the way. The city had never looked so perfect! And just in time for the arrival of the fans from Beleriand.

There were rowdy orcs from Angband, fair Elves from Hithlum, hardy men from Dor-Lomin, and packs of Werewolves from Tol-in-Gaurhoth, and all were deeply impressed by the strength and beauty of the city. Many of the folk from Hithlum stayed with friends or relatives within the city, and a couple of Dor-Lominites were granted the same favor, but most of the men and orcs were put up in the hotels surrounding the arena (which were only in use during events such as this). The Werewolves it seemed were not trusted within the walls, but this suited the creatures fine as they seemed to prefer living a bit more "wild" out on the fields outside the city, and so all was well.

After the renovation the stadium was able to hold 70,000 spectators, and with its claustrophobic design there wasn't a bad seat in the house and it was certain to be noisier than other stadiums of its size. It was decided that 25,000 seats would be allotted to each team for their own game, 5,000 seats for the game they weren't playing in, and 10,000 seats would be available each game to residents of Gondolin. Far more wished to attend the games, and so prices were quite high, and those lucky enough to get tickets could easily resell them for three or four times what they payed, but this was rarely done. A chance to see the game was considered priceless by most of the holders.

There was much debate about which team should gain the support of the home fans. Some of the fans from Gondolin who had made the journey to Isengard for group play intended to support Hithlum, as they had witnessed their play within the group and were impressed. Not to mention that Turgon's father, uncle, and a couple of his cousins were on the team. And then of course, there was the lady of Gondolin, Aredhel. Surely she should gain the majority of support!

But there were quite a few who were leaning towards supporting Angband. Maeglin had a great amount of support with the Noldorin craftsmen, and Gwindor was also well liked by the Elves. And then there was Hurin- fast friend of the King. His role in holding off the forces of Morgoth and saving the people of Gondolin at the close of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad was not forgotten. How could they not support someone who had given them so much?

But then what of the men of Dor-Lomin? Hadn't they, along with Hurin, held the rear to until the last man fell dead so that Gondolin's king and his forces could escape? They were just as worthy of support as Hurin! So who would gain most of the crowd in the anticipated Dor-Lomin versus Hithlum match that evening?

But first there was another match, and the home fans agreed upon it- they would not be rooting for the Werewolves in the first game of the day- Angband versus Tol-in-Guarhoth!