NEW YORK - The Home Depot Center will host Major League Soccer's championship event for the third time in League history. MLS Cup 2008 will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET (live on ABC and TeleFutura) on November 23, 2008 at the home of the Los Angeles Galaxy.
"We are proud and excited to bring Major League Soccer's championship event back to the City of Los Angeles and The Home Depot Center, one of the finest sports venues in the United States," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "The pageantry and top-notch presentation of two previous MLS Cups and the inaugural SuperLiga final prove that The Home Depot Center is a superb stage for national and international showcase events like MLS Cup 2008."
The two previous MLS Cup matches held at The Home Depot Center were resounding successes. In 2003, a sold out crowd of 27,000 witnessed a remarkable match with the San Jose Earthquakes taking home the title with 4-2 victory over the Chicago Fire in a wide-open contest. In 2004, D.C. United lifted the MLS Cup trophy after an intense 3-2 win over the Kansas City Wizards.
"The LA Galaxy are honored to once again be hosting Major League Soccer's premier match, MLS Cup, at The Home Depot Center," LA Galaxy President and General Manager Alexi Lalas said. "We feel that we have the best fans in MLS and I can think of no better way to reward them for their support than winning our third MLS Cup in front of them at home next season."
Since opening its doors in 2003, The Home Depot Center has served as the home of two-time MLS Cup Champion and five-time MLS Cup finalist the Los Angeles Galaxy. Designated as an "Official U.S. Olympic Training Site," this facility is also home to Chivas USA and the National Training Center for the United States Soccer Federation's (USSF) Men's and Women's National Teams. In addition to two MLS Cups, the stadium has hosted numerous memorable soccer matches, including the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup Championship game, the 2003 MLS All-Star Game, CONCACAF Men's and Women's Gold Cup matches, InterLiga, this year's inaugural SuperLiga series and several other elite soccer competitions.
"Hosting the most important game in American professional soccer at The Home Depot Center for the third time shows our continuing commitment to bring exciting and entertaining events to this stadium and city," said Rod O'Connor, general manager, The Home Depot Center. "We are proud to partner with MLS and the Galaxy for what promises to be a great day for soccer fans in the city of Los Angeles, and across the country."
"I can think of no better place to host soccer's biggest match than right here in Los Angeles," said City of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "Los Angeles is the international hub of the world and is a place where everyone comes with a vision and a drive to achieve beyond themselves. We proudly welcome the 2008 MLS Cup match and the league's teams to chase their championship dreams right here in Los Angeles at our Home Depot Center."
MLS fans from around the world should not miss this opportunity to see a championship match at an extraordinary facility that has been called "the cathedral of U.S. soccer." MLS Cup has become an annual pilgrimage - this year fans from 39 different states purchased tickets to MLS Cup 2007 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
For more information about MLS Cup tickets, fans should call Los Angeles Galaxy for details at 1-877-3GALAXY or go to www.mlsnet.com or www.lagalaxy.com.
MLS CUP SITES
MLS Cup 2008 - The Home Depot Center (Carson, Calif.)
MLS Cup 2007 - RFK Stadium (Washington, D.C.)
MLS Cup 2006 - Pizza Hut Park (Frisco, Texas)
MLS Cup 2005 - Pizza Hut Park (Frisco, Texas)
MLS Cup 2004 - The Home Depot Center (Carson, Calif.)
MLS Cup 2003 - The Home Depot Center (Carson, Calif.)
MLS Cup 2002 - Gillette Stadium (Foxboro, Mass.)
MLS Cup 2001 - Columbus Crew Stadium (Columbus, Ohio)
MLS Cup 2000 - RFK Stadium (Washington, D.C.)
MLS Cup 1999 - Foxboro Stadium (Foxboro, Mass.)
MLS Cup 1998 - Rose Bowl (Pasadena, Calif.)
MLS Cup 1997 - RFK Stadium (Washington, D.C.)
MLS Cup 1996 - Foxboro Stadium (Foxboro, Mass.)
ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and features many stars from the United States and around the world. The 13 teams in MLS are: the Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Chivas USA, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Kansas City Wizards, Los Angeles Galaxy, Red Bull New York, New England Revolution, Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC. The San Jose Earthquakes will begin play as the 14th team in 2008 and Seattle will begin play in 2009. Major League Soccer plans to expand to 16 teams by 2010, and could feature as many as 18 clubs by 2012. For more information about MLS, log on to the League's official web site at www.MLSnet.com.
ABOUT THE HOME DEPOT CENTER
The Home Depot Center is southern California's home of world-class competition and training facilities for amateur, Olympic, collegiate and professional athletes. The $150 million, privately financed facility was developed and is operated by AEG on a 125-acre site on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) in Carson, California. The Home Depot Center features an 8,000-seat tennis stadium, a 27,000-seat stadium for soccer, rugby and other athletic competitions and outdoor concerts, a 10,000-seat facility for track & field and lacrosse, the ADT Event Center (a 2,450-seat indoor velodrome for cycling) and other facilities for softball, baseball, beach volleyball, basketball and other sports. The Home Depot Center is home to three professional sports teams - Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA, and Major League Lacrosse's (MLL) Los Angeles Riptide. Named an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site, The Home Depot Center is also home of the United States Tennis Association's (USTA) High Performance Training Center and is the national team training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF). The David Beckham Academy for youth soccer, Andre Agassi's Safe Passage All-Stars at-risk youth tennis program and Athletes' Performance's training center for elite and professional athletes are all based at The Home Depot Center. The Home Depot Center has additionally been designated official training sites for USA Cycling and USA Track & Field. For more information, please visit www.homedepotcenter.com.
