U.S. among four to play at Qwest Field in CONCACAF Gold Cup

The United States National Team will face Grenada in the second bill of a CONCACAF Gold Cup doubleheader at Qwest Field on July 4, 2009.

The U.S. will face Grenada at 6 p.m. PT in the second match of the Gold Cup double header. The first match will feature Haiti and Honduras at 4 p.m. PT.

Presale tickets will be exclusively available tomorrow, Friday, April 3. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, April 17.

The Gold Cup, which has seen record attendances and television ratings in each of the past two competitions (2005 and 2007), will be played at a record 13 venues this year, including the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

The 2009 Gold Cup will be the second hosted by the Qwest Field. In 2005, the U.S. defeated Cuba, 4-1, and Canada, 2-0, at Qwest Field in the first two match days en route to the quarterfinals. The U.S. went on to win the 2005 Gold Cup.

The tournament will use the same format as in 2005 and 2007, with the 12-team field divided into three four-team groups. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals along with the two best third-place teams.

Competition will begin when Central American foes and World Cup hopefuls Costa Rica and El Salvador face off in an opening doubleheader in on Friday, July 3 at The Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, highlighting the first day of the 10th edition of the 12-team championship. The Gold Cup finals will be played on Sunday, July 26, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Each group has at least one representative from CONCACAF’s three geographic regions: North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Group A includes Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Jamaica. Group B includes the U.S., Grenada, Haiti and Honduras. Group C includes Mexico, Guadeloupe, Nicaragua and Panama.

Other venues hosting the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup are: The Home Depot Center (Carson, Calif., July 3); Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (Oakland, Calif., July 5); Columbus Crew Stadium (Columbus, Ohio, July 7); RFK Stadium (Washington, D.C., July 8); Reliant Stadium (Houston, July 9); Florida International University Stadium (Miami, July 10); Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, July 11); University of Phoenix Stadium (Glendale, Ariz., July 12); Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, July 18); New Dallas Cowboys Stadium (Arlington, Texas, July 19); Soldier Field (Chicago, July 23); and Giants Stadium (East Rutherford, N.J., July 26).