Ultimate Soccer President Responds to Patch Readers' Comments About Graduation Change

If there is one thing George Derderian wants the Rochester community to know about Ultimate Soccer Arenas, it is this: His facility, the one that will host all three Rochester graduation ceremonies next June, is not a sweat box.

"It is a state-of-the-art facility," Derderian said about the arenas, built four years ago. "I am more than happy to show it to anyone. I would welcome any Rochester parent to come here and take a tour.

"It's not a garage. It's not a bubble or an inflatable dome."

Last week, Rochester Community Schools from Meadow Brook Music Festival to the Pontiac arena.

Ultimate Soccer Arenas is the largest indoor soccer facility in North America. During the past three years, it has hosted 16 graduation ceremonies, said Derderian, Ultimate Soccer president. Next June, the facility will host at least nine graduation ceremonies, including those for , and high schools.

Ultimate Soccer holds 5,500 people and features professional sound and lighting facilities. The graduation ceremony rental fee, paid for by the schools, is $9,000 per event.

Rochester Patch asked Derderian to respond to some of the comments and concerns voiced by Patch readers on last week's story announcing the venue change.

"They are going from a beautiful venue like Meadow Brook to a sweat box in Pontiac," one reader stated.

It is not a sweat box, Derderian said. It is climate-controlled. "If it is 96 degrees and storming outside, it will be cool inside," he said. "We will never be a sweat box."

"It does appear to be rather ugly."

Although Ultimate Soccer was built for just that — soccer — it can be easily converted for a graduation ceremony. A plastic floor is placed on top of the soccer turf, and a 60-foot stage is built on the field; the stage includes a full backdrop.

The beauty of the venue even extends to the restrooms — they feature granite countertops, Derderian said.

"I have lived in Rochester my whole life, and there is no reason whatsoever that our kids should be having their ceremony in some some dump in Pontiac."

Ultimate Soccer Arenas sits on the edge of Rochester Hills, Pontiac and Bloomfield Township, Derderian said. The facility was built four years ago for $18.5 million.

"We will see how welcome of a change it is when someone breaks into our cars or robs us in the parking lot."

There has never been a report of a break-in in the parking lot of Ultimate Soccer Arenas during a graduation ceremony, Derderian said. In fact, the facility has security guards who protect the parking lot.

And speaking of the parking lot, it is 100 percent paved. Ultimate Soccer is currently negotiating to buy additional parking land; if that parking area isn't ready by June, guests will be encouraged to park in a nearby lot and take a free shuttle bus to the arena.

"What about the audience's visibility? If not in the bleachers, everyone is seated on the same level."

"There is not a bad seat," Derderian said. He also mentioned there is no seat more than 200 feet away from the stage.

In addition to 4,500 chairs on the floor, there is room for 1,000 more guests on bleachers — though he hesitates to call the seats that. He describes them instead as "contoured plastic comfort seats," each 12 inches wide.