East Wake Times

The North Carolina Courage are enhancing their in-stadium experience with a series of new initiatives aimed at engaging fans and creating a vibrant atmosphere. Emily Hunter-Valencia, the Director of Live Production, leads these efforts alongside her fan experience department.

Hunter-Valencia shared her enthusiasm for the changes: “Throughout my career, my favorite moments during a show are when you feel that hush of the crowd as something’s going on in the stadium and then it just builds to this uproar. A lot of that comes through when all involved are having fun and can translate that fun to the fans.”

Among the updates are new pre- and post-game traditions, including an improved start to the Courage Clap featuring a drum, a postgame Player of the Match item, enhanced video board graphics, and a new PA announcer, Joe Cristy. Cristy brings two decades of public address experience from his work with High Point University and Wake Forest University sports events.

Cristy commented on his new role: “My wife was a big influence in taking this opportunity with the Courage. She played college at the Division I level and coaches high-level club soccer now. It’s a situation where I know the women’s game well; we follow the sport as a family. My style fits the women’s game well, but knowing and following a lot of the players in the NWSL will help me excel in this role.”

Hunter-Valencia emphasized flexibility in their approach: “Just because you don’t see something at the beginning of the year doesn’t mean that it’s not coming, or counter to that, if something isn’t quite right, if we need to modify something slightly or emphasize it, we will. Our goal is to make it a seamless process for someone to fall in love with this team and this environment.”

She also highlighted respect for past contributions while innovating: “We’ve had past success. We’ve had past failure... It’s important to me that we remember and acknowledge the past but also be willing to try new things.”

Mark Callaway's retirement after 17 years as PA announcer marks another transition for North Carolina FC and Courage. Hunter-Valencia expressed gratitude for his contributions: “We are incredibly grateful to Mark for his work over the years... This whole process has been to emphasize and amplify a lot of that love that’s been put into the team over the years.”

The Courage aim to provide an exceptional experience both on and off-field at First Horizon Stadium.