NEW YORK – There’s still one month left until the start of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and the crowds are already arriving in droves.
The buzz around the biennual international continental championship is building as advance ticket sales for the tournament continue to climb.
Sporting Kansas City’s new stadium, LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, is nearing a sell-out for its Group C Gold Cup doubleheader featuring the US national team and Canada. Five days after Sporting open their new facility against the Chicago Fire on June 9, the USA face Guadeloupe and Canada meet Panama on June 14. Group C action kicks off a week earlier when the USA and Canada do battle at Ford Field in Detroit.
Also proving a major draw is Group A featuring Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Cuba. More than 40,000 tickets have been sold for the June 5 tournament opener at Cowboys Stadium. The second matchday in the group has sold more than 20,000 tickets at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., while the Group A finale has drawn more than 30,000 at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Group B, comprising Jamaica, Guatemala, Honduras and Grenada, plays at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., FIU Stadium in Miami and Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.
The Gold Cup champion, who will be crowned on June 25 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., will represent CONCACAF in the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil in 2013.
