The return of the Mexico's Men's National Team to Colorado highlights the two matches that will be played at the Denver Broncos' stadium this summer in the CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage.
On Wednesday CONCACAF - the region's governing body - announced the three groups for the premier tournament for national teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean. Denver is one of 13 venues hosting matches.
On July 14 Mexico will play Martinique and Canada will face Panama in a doubleheader in downtown Denver. The four teams will also play doubleheaders at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on July 7 and CenturyLink Field in Seattle on July 11 before cosing out Group A play in Colorado.
Tickets to all Gold Cup matches will be available to the general public starting on Thursday, March 21 at 10:00 a.m. (local time in all markets) by visiting www.GoldCup.org. Special pre-sales will be available starting tomorrow, Thursday, March 14 at many of the participating Gold Cup cities.
Mexico last played in Colorado on June 2, 2011 when they defeated New Zealand 3-0 in front of over 45,000 fans at the Broncos' stadium.
Mexico has also played two matches at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, falling 1-0 to Colombia on August 22, 2007 before 17,737 fans and defeating Bolivia, 5-1, on March 11, 2009 in front of 18,296 fans.
The largest attendnace for a Mexico match in Denver was in 2002, when the U.S. Men's National Team defeated El Tri 1-0 at INVESCO Field at Mile High in front of 48,476 fans.
The U.S. Men's National Team heads Group C which also include Belize, Cuba and Costa Rica. Group C matches will be played at Jeld-Weld Field in Portland, Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah and Rentschler Field in Connecticut. The third group features Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, and Trinidad & Tobago, with group matches set for Red Bull Arena, Sun Life Stadium in Miami, and BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.
The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup kicks off on July 7 at the Rose Bowl. The quarterfinals will be played in Atlanta's Georgia Dome and Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium, both first-time hosts in the tournament. The semifinals will head to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX on Wednesday, July 24 and the Final will be held at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 28.
In 2011, the tournament drew more than 600,000 fans throughout 13 match-days, including nine sell-outs. The 13 venues for 2013 can accomodate an average of 57,000 spectators.
About CONCACAF
CONCACAF “The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football” is one of six continental confederations of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) and serves as the governing body of football in this part of the world. It is composed of 40 national associations, from Canada in the north to Guyana, Surinam and French Guyana in the south.
