Wednesday, January 23, 2013

BBVA Compass Stadium to Host 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup Match(es)

Today, CONCACAF released the list of host cities and venues for the 2013 Gold Cup. Although Houston has played host to Gold Cup matches in past years, there is a change of venue for 2013 from Reliant Stadium to the brand new, soccer specific BBVA Compass Stadium. As of now, it's not clear what match(es) will take place in Houston, but since BBVA Compass Stadium has about 40,000 less seats than Reliant Stadium, it is likely that Houston won't play host to any of the big marquee matches this year (especially any matches involving Mexico).

While the 2011 Gold Cup decided who would represent CONCACAF in the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brasil (Mexico), there is no bigger prize by winning the 2013 Gold Cup. Combine that with the fact that World Cup Qualifiers are the priority this year, it will be interesting to see which players get their first caps, or first caps in a long time, this summer.

Here's a list of all the host cities and venues for the 2013 Gold Cup:

Dallas – Cowboys Stadium (Arlington, TX)

Atlanta – Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA)

Baltimore - M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore, MD)

Chicago – Soldier Field (Chicago, IL)

Denver – Sports Authority Field at Mile High (Denver, CO)

Hartford – Rentschler Field (East Hartford, CT)

Houston – BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston, TX)

Los Angeles – Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)

Miami – Sun Life Stadium (Miami Gardens, FL)

New York– Red Bull Arena (Harrison, NJ)

Portland – JELD-WEN Field (Portland, OR)

Salt Lake City – Rio Tinto Stadium (Sandy, UT)

Seattle – CenturyLink Field (Seattle, WA)

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