[the phantom]

All the peoples of Arda were awed by the 2010 debut of the Amon Hen Coliseum, built in secret by the Gondor Arda Cup Host Committee in return for a promise of hosting the semis and finals two consecutive years, with options to return to the site before the normal mandatory gap between hosting Arda Cup finals.

There was no question that The Coliseum was the largest venue in all of Arda, thanks largely to the magic of Amon Hen, the “hill of seeing”, which allowed the stadium to climb far higher than others so long as it went up the side of Amon Hen which was found to amplify the natural visionary capabilities of anyone upon it, and more so as one neared the pinnacle of the hill.

Because of this the stadium appeared extremely lopsided. The east quarter of the stadium overlooked the great falls of Rauros and seated around 20,000, while the north quarter hugged the shores of the lake and seated slightly more. But as the stadium ran to the south-southwest up the slopes of Amon Hen, the seats just piled higher and higher, and after two brand new additions this past offseason the total seating for the stadium was now in excess of 160,000!

But believe it or not the whopping size of the monstrous arena was not the number one thing that arrested the attention of critics, but rather it was the architecture. The stadium was a tribute to the history of football in Arda, featuring sections which expertly mimicked the architecture, décor, and adornments of various famous stadiums from the history of Arda. Any walkway, restroom, eatery, and entrance in a given section also mirrored the style, making visitors feel as if they were actually in a different stadium.

The initial construction featured sections from Valimar, Utumno, Tirion, Angband, Gondolin, Doriath, Numenor, Mordor, Mirkwood, and Rohan. The two new additions this year were Moria and The Shire. “They were on the list to be included with the initial construction,” said Gondor Arda Cup Host Committee chairman Meneldil, “But it just didn’t work out that way. We wished to have all peoples well represented in our sections, but we wanted them to be authentic, with craftsmen from the locations brought in to advise and oversee. The dwarves we wanted to bring in were busy with other projects such as Vinyamar, and we were worried that the Halflings would have let the cat out of the bag had we brought them in on it. As you know we were keen to keep the Coliseum a secret until the last possible moment, and Hobbits, well… their tongues have a habit of wagging- especially in a pub.”

“So instead of those two we added Mirkwood and Rohan, which we originally planned to add later.” When asked if there were more sections in the works, Meneldil said that there definitely were. “Oh yes, we already have a team from Alqualonde ready to start as soon as the finals are over, and we’re in talks with Gundabad as well. Sure, some may say that the Orcs already have Angband and Mordor, but we want to include something that is very uniquely Orcish.”

Meneldil also mentioned a desire for an Entish section in the future, but said that such a thing would be understandably slow in developing. Nargothrond however was a comparably quicker option, and an exploratory committee is currently debating the merits of other locations, such as Angmar, Rivendell, and Lothlorien.

But the stadium wasn’t the only thing around Amon Hen was expanding. There was also the infrastructure. There were a good number of inns, pubs, and rentable homes in a brand new town a short distance west of the stadium along the shores of the lake, and a good number of cabins farther along, or in the woods higher up on the slopes of the surrounding hills. It was the same last year, only this year there were more of them, as well as several permanent residents now that Gondor had opened the area to settlement. There was also a good deal of boating on the lake, and the marinas to accommodate it. A bit farther up the lake there were ski lodges. It was not the season for snow obviously, but the lodges had remained open to host guests and show off their facilities and runs, hoping that the visitors would return in the winter.

The docks beneath Rauros and the ingenious series of lifts that transported travelers up to lake-level had been improved as well. Specifically, the docks were larger, and a third lift path had been installed to allow for shorter waiting times. Additionally a winding nature trail had been constructed that wound around the west side of Amon Hen for anyone so inclined to enjoy a challenging day-long hike to their destination. All in all the committee had done all they could to ensure that the Amon Hen Coliseum would be recognized as the king of match locations.