NEW YORK, NEW YORK (March, 21 2009) The 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup™ will be played in a record 13 different U.S. cities, opening at The Home Depot Center in Los Angeles on Friday, 3 July and concluding with the championship match Sunday, 26 July at Giants Stadium outside New York.
Houston will play host to the Gold Cup once again and will look to continue a strong history of large, enthusiastic crowds. Reliant Stadium sold out first-round and quarterfinal double headers in 2007, and boasted the largest attendance figures in the tournament. In 2005, over 105,000 fans turned out for two days of matches at Reliant Stadium, making Houston the top market for the tournament. Houston’s attendance was 40% higher than any other venue for the tournament that year. Reliant Stadium has hosted the five largest soccer crowds in Texas history, including 70,103 for last year’s USA vs. Mexico match.
The 13 cities are more than twice than the number previously used for the continental championship and shy of only the 1982 FIFA World Cup™ in Spain and the 2002 FIFA World Cup™, which used 10 venues each in Japan and Korea Republic. The 1994 FIFA World Cup™ in the USA was played in nine different venues.
“By expanding the Gold Cup to 13 venues, it will give fans more opportunity to experience the championship in person,” said CONCACAF President Jack Warner.
The Gold Cup will make its first appearance in four cities: Columbus, Ohio; Phoenix; Philadelphia and Washington. A Gold Cup quarterfinal will be the first sporting event to be played at the Dallas Cowboys New Stadium.
Each venue will host one doubleheader except for the final at Giants Stadium, with the quarterfinals set for Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia (Saturday, 18 July) and Dallas (Sunday, 19 July), and the semifinals at Soldier Field in Chicago (Thursday, 23 July).
Besides Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus (7 July), RFK Stadium in Washington (8 July) and the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (12 July), other first-round venues include: Qwest Field in Seattle (4 July), Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California (5 July), Reliant Stadium in Houston (9 July), FIU Stadium in Miami (10 July), and Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts (11 July).
“While 13 cities create logistical challenges, we think the benefits of reaching out to more venues are clearly worthwhile,” CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer said. “The ability of so many people to see national teams play we feel is well worth the effort.”
The tournament will use the same format as in 2005 and 2007, with the 12-team field divided into three, four-team groups. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals along with the two best third-place teams.
The three first-round groups for the qualifiers: Canada, Mexico and the USA from the North Zone; Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua from Central America; and Jamaica, Grenada, Guadeloupe and Haiti from the Caribbean, and schedule will be announced at a later time.
The Gold Cup was played in six different cities in its two most recent editions, including two stadia in Los Angeles in 2005 (the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and The Home Depot Center).
This will be the second time Giants Stadium has staged the final and first since 2005. Miami will see the Gold Cup for the seventh straight time, although it will be the first time at FIU Stadium, while the Los Angeles area will stage matches for the eighth time in 10 tournaments.
Games will be played on modern synthetic surfaces in four stadiums: Qwest Field, FIU Stadium, Gillette Stadium and the New Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Grass will be laid over the existing surface for the final in Giants Stadium.
Groups and a full schedule as well as ticket information will be available in the coming weeks.
SCHEDULE
First Round
3 July – The Home Depot Center (Los Angeles)
4 July – Qwest Field (Seattle)
5 July – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (San Francisco)
7 July – Crew Stadium (Columbus, Ohio)
8 July – Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (Washington)
9 July – Reliant Stadium (Houston)
10 July – Florida International University Stadium (Miami)
11 July – Gillette Stadium (Boston)
12 July – University of Phoenix Stadium (Phoenix)
Quarterfinals
18 July – Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)
19 July – Dallas Cowboys New Stadium (Dallas)
Semifinals
23 July – Soldier Field (Chicago)
Final
26 July – Giants Stadium (New York)
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