From TSN Canada

3/18/2004

CHICAGO (Ticker) - Manchester United will again be part of a summer tour of North America.

The Premiership power and Champions World, a New Jersey-based promotions company, on Thursday unveiled plans for a series of games to take place in the United States and Canada and include seven major international clubs.

Manchester United made a similar tour of the United States in the summer of 2003 that generated over $20 million in revenue.

Premiership teams Liverpool and Chelsea, top Scottish club Glasgow Celtic, Italian powers AC Milan and AS Roma and perennial German power Bayern Munich also will be part of the tour.

Manchester United will play Bayern on July 25 in Chicago, Celtic on July 28 in Philadelphia and AC Milan on July 31 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The first game of the series is Chelsea against Celtic on July 24 in Seattle. The series concludes August 3 in East Rutherford when Roma meets Liverpool.

East Hartford, Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Toronto also will host games while Los Angeles has been dropped as a venue.

Champions World will install grass surfaces at those venues with artificial turf, such as SkyDome in Toronto and Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

CHELSEA!

London’s Chelsea, who have become one of the most exciting teams in England since acquiring a roster of dangerous players over the course of the last year, will feature in three games this summer. Following the Series opener in Seattle on July 24 against Celtic, Chelsea will help introduce Heinz Field in Pittsburgh to international soccer with a match against AS Roma on July 29. The Blues will end their tour with a Monday night football encounter at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on August 2. Chelsea will use the Pittsburgh Steelers Training Complex as their base of operations during the tour

SCHEDULE
Saturday, July 24 – Chelsea v. Celtic (Seahawks Stadium, Seattle)
Sunday, July 25 – Manchester United v. Bayern Munich (Soldier Field, Chicago)
Monday, July 26 – Liverpool v. Celtic (Rentschler Field, E. Hartford, CT)
Wednesday, July 28 – Manchester United v. Celtic (Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia)
Thursday, July 29 – AS Roma v. Chelsea (Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA)
Saturday, July 31 – Manchester United v. AC Milan (Giants Stadium, E. Rutherford, NJ)
Saturday, July 31 – Celtic v. AS Roma (SkyDome, Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
Monday, August 2 – Chelsea v. AC Milan (Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia)
Tuesday, August 3 – AS Roma v. Liverpool (Giants Stadium, E. Rutherford, NJ)

TEAMS
MANCHESTER UNITED (England)
CELTIC FC (Scotland)
AC MILAN (Italy)
CHELSEA (England)
AS ROMA (Italy)
LIVERPOOL (England)
BAYERN MUNICH (Germany)

VENUES (Capacity)
GIANTS STADIUM – East Rutherford, NJ (80,242)
LINCOLN FINANCIAL FIELD – Philadelphia, PA (68, 532)
SEAHAWKS STADIUM – Seattle, WA (67,000)
SOLDIER FIELD – Chicago, IL (63,000)
RENTSCHLER FIELD – East Hartford, CT (40,000)
SKYDOME – Toronto, Ontario, Canada (53,506)
HEINZ FIELD – Pittsburgh, PA (64,450)

Tickets on sale March 30 except for Liverpool at Giants stadium!!!!!!!

Holy Cow, who do I root for what will I wear?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

WOW! thats a great lineup

imagine the us actually made this into a competettive summer comp one day

it would be excellent for the game to progress in the states

Sounds good...I'm kind of PO'd that LA is not part of the tour...but the Coliseum didn't sell out last summer (only 60,000) so I can understand why we're being passed over this time. May have to fly up to Seattle to see the Chelsea game...wearing an Arsenal kit!!!

Great lineup....Cabel, congrats on getting a game in Pittsburgh.

Thanks Tim!


It sounds like the Pittsburgh Steelers where instrumental in obtaining the game. The Steelers President Art Rooney II said that the city competed against 100 other cities to get the game and the Steelers helped get Chelsea based in Pittsburgh!

Shame about LA, I was surprised that the game there last did not sell out.

sometimes we get the "big clubs" coming to australia but its always youth squads and fringe players and the rest of em are here for a holiday.

Chelsea F.C. in America,i'm worried for the players with the American friendly fire,our boys in the forces found out all about that...

Cabe: As much as I would love to attend all 3 CFC matches, chances are "Him Indoors"!! will only allow me to go to one!!!!

Can you give any info on hotels near the Philly stadium (Lincoln Financial) and bars that are kid friendly????? Which game are you planning on going to???

I would love to go to both matches in PA, but seeing as I've just got back from a solo 9 days trip, it would require some major 'sucking-up' and then some

I will deffo be at the match in Pittsburgh, jeepers the stadium is about 10 minutes from my local football friendly pub!

I dont' know much about what's around Lincoln Financial Field. But I do know that there is a suburb of Philly called King of Prussia that has a huge mall and lots of Hotels. I'll have to do more research.

Thanks Cabe. Still working on flights etc. Will have to bring princess along as she can't be trusted to stay at home by herself She absolutely refuses to go to the football match so will have to stay in the hotel room by herself.

Hotel, schmotel

On my way back from East Hartford, I'm driving through the steel town and crashing at Cabels house! I figure I'll bring a few bucks to send Mrs. Cabel to the movies, a few bucks for a baby sitter for the Cabel Jrs. and then Cabel and I are headed to the pub for a few pre-match pints and the on to Heinz Field to root for Duff and the boys.

Cabel,
I'll probably arrive Wednesday night around 11:00. Please clear out a space in the garage for me to lay out my sleeping bag and nightlight. Also, it would be great if you could stock a couple of ice cold Steel City's in a cooler for me. Just put it somewhere in the corner (I'll find it ). You can hide a garage door opener in the bushes. That way, I don't have to knock on the front door and bother you.

Hey Cabel, this redyankee fella doesn't know what he'd be missin, take him to Permanti Bros and have them slap him up with a Hot Cap & egg and a pint of Yunegling, none of that Iron City crap, take him to pants an dat and up to da point or daawn on the strip. If he gets awt a line just toss him in a river and a 6 foot catfish will take care of him. Double Yo! If he'd stay over you can tell him to red up his room before he left and take out the rubbish and wersh them dishes. Scratch my back with a hacksaw, I'm on a roll! While visiting he can go to Mars or to the Moon or even a hill shaped like a squirrel. In fact he could get his chicken on a hill with Will even better! How much fried chicken can you eat? Daeatyet? Nodjew? Ha baht some chip ham sandwiches....mmmm chipped ham.

later I'm going crazy