CARSON, CALIFORNIA - Summer is around the corner and that means The Home Depot Center's events calendar is heating up. To celebrate, the facility will host its first-ever "Home Depot Center 5K Run" on the 125-acre multi-sports campus on June 23 at 9:00 a.m. to benefit The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation. $30 registration for the run/walk includes tickets to three exciting summer sporting events at The Home Depot Center - July 7 LA Galaxy vs. Kansas City; June 23 LA Riptide vs. Chicago Machine; and the August 7 night session of the US Open Series (USOS) Ultimate Tennis Celebration.
The 5K run/walk course highlights the grounds of the 125-acre campus of The Home Depot Center on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills. Participants will run a course that starts and finishes at the 10,000-seat track & field facility - home to the LA Riptide - and includes the perimeter of the 27,000-seat soccer stadium, 8,000-seat tennis stadium, as well as parts of Avalon Blvd. and Victoria St. in Carson, Calif. A timing company will be used for those wishing to get their official race time from start to finish.
Registration for the event is available online now at www.homedepotcenter.com/5k or by calling (213) 742-7874. The $30 registration fee includes tickets to a Galaxy game, Riptide game and a night session of the USOS Ultimate Tennis Celebration. Upgraded registration packages are also available for participants who wish to upgrade to reserved seating at select Home Depot Center events.
A portion of the proceeds from the 5K Run will be donated to The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation, which provides financial and in-kind support for educational, recreational and social service programs to improve the lives of young people in the city of Carson and the Greater Southern California region. The foundation has donated more than $500,000 to youth organizations since opening the facility in 2003.
About the Events
In its 12th season, the Los Angeles Galaxy returns to Major League Soccer action with a re-loaded roster led by Head Coach Frank Yallop. Forward Landon Donovan, defender Chris Albright and new goalkeeper Joe Cannon are ones to watch as the team goes for their third MLS Cup in celebration of the final season of Galaxy midfielder Cobi Jones, who recently announced his retirement at the end of this year. The July 7 match against the Kansas City Wizards brings former Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman back to The Home Depot Center for his only visit during the 2007 regular season.
The Los Angeles Riptide, southern California's newest professional sports franchise, began its inaugural season in May 2006, as a member of the 10-team Major League Lacrosse (MLL) league. The team plays its matches in the 10,000-seat track & field facility at The Home Depot Center and opens its 2007 season on Sunday, May 27 over Memorial Day Weekend. Participants in the 5K run will see the LA Riptide take on the Chicago Machine on June 23, which will be the team's second home game of the 2007 season and their second match against Chicago. The Riptide have made several off-season player personnel moves, adding two new goalies and a new offensive threat to their training camp roster.
In the 38-year history of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, the US Open Series Ultimate Tennis Celebration presented by Herbalife has hosted some of the most memorable and historic moments in women's tennis. Since 2004, the annual Sony Ericsson WTA Tier II event has made a stop at The Home Depot Center. As part of the USTA's US Open Series, providing a US Open bonus pool prize of money for top performers in selected tournaments, the US Open Series Ultimate Tennis Celebration hosts 64 of the world's best female tennis players. In the last two decades alone, eight players who have held the WTA's No. 1 ranking have been Ultimate Tennis Celebration tournament champions, including Kim Clijsters (2005, 2003), Southern California native Lindsay Davenport (2004, 2001, 1998, 1996), Serena Williams (2000, 1999) and five-time champion (a tournament record) Martina Navratilova. This year's tournament will be Monday, August 6 through Sunday, August 12. Participants in the 5K will receive tickets to second night of tennis on Tuesday, August 7, of the week-long Ultimate Tennis Celebration tournament.
For more information, seating charts and club details, please visit www.homedepotcenter.com, www.lagalaxy.com or www.lariptide.com. To register for the 5K, please visit www.homedepotcenter.com/5k.
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.
