Atlanta is one of 13 cities that will host the Gold Cup, the region’s premier soccer tournament, this summer. Tournament organizers announced the venues Wednesday.
The Gold Cup will feature 12 teams, including the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The tournament will be held from July 7-28. Mexico is the reigning champ. It wasn’t announced which round of the tournament each city will host. The schedule is expected to be announced by the end of February.
Atlanta’s game will be held at the Georgia Dome, which has hosted several soccer events in the past few years. However, this will be the first time the facility or the city have participated in the Gold Cup.
Natural grass will be installed at the Dome for the game. That was also done when the Dome hosted Mexico for exhibition games against Venezuela in 2009 and Bosnia-Herzegovina 2011. It also hosted a friendly match between A.C. Milan and Club America in 2009, and Club America and Manchester City in 2010.
Atlanta and the Georgia Dome were also included as potential host sites in the U.S. bid to win the 2022 World Cup, which was awarded to Qatar.
Other host cities and venues for the Gold Cup are: Dallas (Cowboys Stadium), Baltimore (M&T Bank Stadium), Chicago (Soldier Field), Denver (Mile High), Hartford (Rentschler Field), Houston (BBVA Compass Stadium), Los Angeles (Rose Bowl), Miami (Sun Life Stadium), New York (Red Bull Arena), Portland (JELD-WEN Field), Salt Lake City (Rio Tinto Stadium) and Seattle (CenturyLink Field).
The remaining teams that have qualified are: Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique and Trinidad & Tobago. Panama and Guatemala will play on Friday for the final spot.
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