Kansas City Wizards General Manager Curt Johnson announced Monday that the Wizards organization and Arrowhead Stadium will host the U.S. Women's National Team as part of a doubleheader in conjunction with the Wizards final regular season game of the year on Saturday, October 16th. The U.S. will take on Mexico beginning at 5:00 p.m. CT and will be immediately followed by the Wizards against Western Conference rivals the Los Angeles Galaxy at 7:30 p.m. CT.
"We are thrilled to be able to host our Gold Medal winning U.S. Women's National Team in conjunction with the Wizards very important regular season finale against Los Angeles," said Johnson. "The soccer fans of Mid-America will have the unique opportunity to see Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett as they close out their illustrious careers."</p>
The U.S. Women, coming off an impressive Gold Medal performance at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, announced a ten game schedule on the 2004 "Fan Celebration Tour" which kicks off September 25th at sold out Frontier Field in Rochester, NY. Their appearance in Kansas City is the fifth of ten stops in their post-Olympics tour, which also marks the farewell appearance on the National Team of Hamm, Foudy and Fawcett. </p>
Scheduled to join Hamm, Foudy and Fawcett in Kansas City are Brandi Chastain, Kristine Lilly, Abby Wambach and the rest of the Olympic Gold Medal winning squad that outscored their opponents 12 to 4 in six matches during the 2004 Olympics. The 2-1 overtime win over Brazil in the final gave the Women their fourth World Championship, including the 1991 and 1999 Women's World Cups and the 1996 and 2004 Olympics. </p>
In three previous appearances at Arrowhead the U.S. Women have posted a 1-0-2 record, but more importantly have drawn an average crowd of 25,305. In their first ever appearance in Kansas City on October 7, 1999, the Women defeated Finland 6-0 in front of 36,405 in their post-World Cup victory tour. That match still ranks as the 11th largest crowd in U.S. Women's history. One year later, the Women tied Canada 1-1 in front of 21,246 fans as part of their "Road to Glory" tour leading up to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.</p>
The U.S. Women were scheduled to take part in a doubleheader with the Wizards on September 16, 2001, but the event was cancelled following the tragic events of September 11th. On October 22, 2003, the U.S. Women's National Team returned to Kansas City and tied Italy 2-2 in front of 18,263 fans as part of their two-city United States tour following the 2003 Women's World Cup.
Ticket prices for the Arrowhead Soccer Doubleheader will be Club Level: $32; Lower Level Sideline: $27 and Lower Level Endline: $17. Groups of 20 or more may purchase tickets in any seating area and receive a $2 per ticket discount by calling the Kansas City Wizards office at 816-920-9300.
Wizards Season Ticket Holders and other individual ticker buyers who already have purchased tickets to the Wizards game on October 16th will need to upgrade their tickets through the mail or at the Wizards Box Office in order to attend the U.S. Women's game. Wizards Season Tickets holders can purchase tickets to the Doubleheader at the discounted rate of $30 Club Level / $25 Lower Level Sideline / and $15 Lower Level Endline General Admission. Each Club Level, Sideline and General Admission ticket already purchased will receive a credit towards the purchase of a Doubleheader ticket for both games. Season Ticket Holders will receive a detailed letter by mail in the coming week, outlining the upgrade policy.
Individual tickets for the U.S. Women's and Wizards Doubleheader will go on sale at 2:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, September 14th and can be purchased through Ticketmaster by calling 816-931-3330 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the Wizards Box Office located at Gate D1 at Arrowhead Stadium beginning September 14th at Noon.
The Wizards regular season finale against the Los Angeles Galaxy will kickoff approximately 30 minutes following the completion of the U.S. Women's match and will likely have huge playoff implications on the line. The Wizards and Galaxy are currently tied for second place in the Western Conference with 38 points and trail the first place Colorado Rapids by just one point. The Wizards have beaten and tied the Galaxy in two previous meetings this season and will face Los Angeles twice in the final three weeks of the season.
U.S. Women's National Team "Fan Celebration Tour" Schedule
Game #/Date: Opponent, Venue; City, Kickoff (local)
Game 1/Sat., Sept. 25: Iceland, Frontier Field; Rochester, N.Y., 7:30 p.m. ET
Game 2/Wed., Sept. 29: Iceland, Heinz Field; Pittsburgh, Pa., 7:30 p.m. ET
Game 3/Sun., Oct. 3: New Zealand, PGE Park; Portland, Ore., 5:00 p.m. PT
Game 4/Sun., Oct. 10: New Zealand, Paul Brown Stadium; Cincinnati, Ohio, TBD
Game 5/Sat., Oct. 16: Mexico, Arrowhead Stadium; Kansas City, Mo., 5:00 p.m. CT
Game 6/Wed., Oct. 20: Ireland, Soldier Field; Chicago, Ill., 7:30 p.m. CT
Game 7/Sat., Oct. 23: Ireland, Reliant Stadium; Houston, Texas, 7:00 p.m. CT
Game 8/Wed., Nov. 3: Denmark, Giants Stadium; East Rutherford, N.J., 7:30 p.m. ET
Game 9/Sat., Nov. 6: Denmark, TBD; TBD, TBD
Game 10/TBD: TBD, TBD; TBD, TBD
Recent U.S. National Team games in Kansas City
October 7, 1999: U.S. Women vs. Finland (U.S. Women's Cup), 6-0 W, 36,406
August 20, 2000: U.S. Women vs. Canada (Friendly), 1-1 T, 21,246
April 25, 2001: U.S. Men vs. Costa Rica (World Cup Qualifier), 1-0 W, 37,319
October 22, 2003: U.S. Women vs. Italy (Friendly), 2-2 T, 18,263
