Seven U.S. Cities and Stadiums to Serve as Hosts of the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The United States will host the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup from July 6-24 in seven different venues, CONCACAF announced on Wednesday. The eighth edition of the tournament features a 25 games to played at Qwest Field in Seattle, Wa., The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, and Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., the Orange Bowl in Miami, Fla., Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., and the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.
Jan. 26, 2005
More Than 20 Games Will Be Played Across the United States
CHICAGO (January 26, 2005) — The United States will host the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup from July 6-24 in seven different venues, CONCACAF announced on Wednesday. The eighth edition of the tournament features a record number of games in more cities than ever before, as 25 games will be played in seven cities across the U.S. Previous editions of the tournament have been held in up to three different venues.
Hosting the Gold Cup for the first time will be Qwest Field in Seattle, Wa., The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, and Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Games will also be played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Fla., Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., both of which were Gold Cup venues in 2003, and the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, which was a Gold Cup venue in 2000.
Three groups of four teams will compete in the opening round of the tournament in a round-robin format from July 6-13. Group A will be based at the Orange Bowl in Miami and Group B will play two games at Qwest Field before traveling to Foxboro for the final Group B match. Group A will play a game in Los Angeles and Carson before traveling to Houston for a final group match at Reliant Stadium.
The top two teams from each group and the two best third-place teams will advance to the quarterfinals in Foxboro and Houston on July 16 and 17, respectively. Giants Stadium will host the semifinal matches on July 21 and the Gold Cup Final on July 24.
The U.S. won the inaugural edition of the Gold Cup, which crowns the top team in the region, in 1991 after playing Honduras to a 0-0 tie in Los Angeles, Calif., and winning 4-3 in penalty kicks. The U.S. claimed the regional championship once again in 2002 by defeating Costa Rica 2-0 in Pasadena, Calif.
Ten CONCACAF nations and two invitees will make up the 12 participating teams. The United States, Canada and Mexico, along with 2010 FIFA World Cup host and guest team South Africa, automatically qualify for the tournament. The remaining countries will be made up of the three nations that emerge from Caribbean qualifying (Digicel Cup), four countries that advance through Central American qualifying (UNCAF Nations Cup) and an additional guest nation.
The Digicel Cup Final Round is scheduled to take place at the National Stadium in Waterford, St. Michaels in Barbados from February 20 –24, with Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados participating. Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Panama will compete in the UNCAF Nations Cup on Feb. 19-27 in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
The final Gold Cup groups will be announced after qualifying concludes in the Central America and the Caribbean.
- ussoccer.com –
2005 CONCACAF GOLD CUP SCHEDULE
ROUND 1, GROUP A
Wednesday, 6 JULY
Match 1 Orange Bowl – Miami, Florida
Match 2 Orange Bowl – Miami, Florida
Saturday, 9 JULY
Match 9 Orange Bowl – Miami, Florida
Match 10 Orange Bowl – Miami, Florida
Monday, 11 JULY
Match 13 Orange Bowl – Miami, Florida
Match 14 Orange Bowl – Miami, Florida
ROUND 1, GROUP B
Thursday, 7 JULY
Match 3 Qwest Field – Seattle, Washington
Match 4 Qwest Field – Seattle, Washington
Saturday, 9 JULY
Match 7 Qwest Field – Seattle, Washington
Match 8 Qwest Field – Seattle, Washington
Tuesday, 12 JULY
Match 15 Gillette Stadium – Foxboro, Massachusetts
Match 16 Gillette Stadium – Foxboro, Massachusetts
ROUND 1, GROUP C
Friday, 8 JULY
Match 5 Home Depot Center – Carson, California
Match 6 Home Depot Center – Carson, California
Sunday, 10 JULY
Match 11 L.A. Memorial Coliseum – Los Angeles, California
Match 12 L.A. Memorial Coliseum – Los Angeles, California
Wednesday, 13 JULY
Match 17 Reliant Stadium – Houston, Texas
Match 18 Reliant Stadium – Houston, Texas
QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, 16 JULY
Quarterfinal 1 Gillette Stadium – Foxboro, Massachusetts
Quarterfinal 2 Gillette Stadium – Foxboro, Massachusetts
Sunday, 17 JULY
Quarterfinal 3 Reliant Stadium – Houston, Texas
Quarterfinal 4 Reliant Stadium – Houston, Texas
SEMIFINALS
Thursday, 21 JULY
Semifinal 1 Giants Stadium – East Rutherford, New Jersey
Semifinal 2 Giants Stadium – East Rutherford, New Jersey
FINAL
Sunday, 24 JULY
Final Giants Stadium – East Rutherford, New Jersey
GOLD CUP HISTORY
Year Champion Runner-up Venues
1991 USA Honduras Los Angeles, Pasadena (USA)
1993 Mexico USA Dallas (USA); Mexico City (Mexico)
1996 Mexico Brazil Anaheim, San Diego, Los Angeles (USA)
1998 Mexico USA Oakland, Miami, Los Angeles (USA)
2000 Canada Colombia San Diego, Miami, Los Angeles (USA)
2002 USA Costa Rica Pasadena, Miami (USA)
2003 Mexico Brazil Foxboro, Miami (USA); Mexico City (Mexico)
