[the phantom]

Amon Hen Coliseum to Host Group H
Philip McPhantom, MESPN News

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

Because of this the stadium appears extremely lopsided. The east quarter of the stadium overlooks the great falls of Rauros and seats around 25,000, while the north quarter hugs the shores of the lake and seats slightly more. But as the stadium runs to the south-southwest up the slopes of Amon Hen, the seats just pile higher and higher, and after another new addition this past offseason the total seating for the stadium is now in the neighborhood of 200,000!

But believe it or not the whopping size of the monstrous arena is not the number one thing that typically arrests the attention of fans and critics, but rather it is the architecture. The stadium is a tribute to the history of football in Arda, featuring sections which expertly capture the architecture, décor, and adornments of various famous stadiums from elsewhere in Arda. Any walkway, restroom, eatery, and entrance in a given section also mirrors 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, while Moria and The Shire were added in 2011. In 2012 teams of Noldor and Teleri put in hard work to reproduce a piece of Alqualonde's arena, and workers from Nargothrond successfully mimicked Finrod's famous deep-delved stadium.

This past off-season a Gundabad section was added. The locals were concerned that all the orc crews brought in for the consultations and construction might run amok, but the Coliseum Construction Committee (CCC) was careful about which orcs they allowed, how many at once, and where they were lodged, thus problems were for the most part averted.

When stadium planners were asked last month if there were new additions in the works, they answered: "Yes, definitely. We've been eying a Lothlorien section for a while now and we've already began preliminary talks and negotiations. There's also a handful of other regional flavors we're debating in sub-committee."

But the stadium isn’t the only thing that's been expanding in recent years- there is also the infrastructure. There are quite a few inns, pubs, and rentable homes in a rather new town a short distance west of the stadium along the shores of the great 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 the last few years, only this year there are more of them than ever, as well as a growing number of permanent residents now that Gondor had opened the area to settlement. There is also a good deal of boating on the lake, and the marinas to accommodate it. A bit farther up the lake there are several ski lodges. Now is not the time for snow obviously, but the lodges are still open to host guests and show off their facilities and runs, in hopes that visitors will return for a visit in the winter.

The docks just a bit downstream from the foot of the falls of Rauros are built to accommodate a large quantity of ships, and an ingenious series of hydro-powered lifts can transport travelers up to lake-level from the bottom of the falls- there are four lift paths in all, thus waiting times aren't bad. Additionally, two winding hiking trails leave the docks and wrap up and around the west side of Amon Hen, so those feeling like getting a bit of exercise (or wishing to skip the small lift fee) can take the scenic route (though the lifts climbing the cliffs so close to the falls are awfully scenic themselves). All in all the CCC has done quite a bit to ensure that Amon Hen Coliseum would be a huge hit with anyone lucky enough to visit.