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CONCACAF has announced the venues for the 2013 Gold Cup, scheduled to take place this July, and RFK Stadium did not make the cut. The Post's Steve Goff is reporting that a bid was submitted for RFK, but CONCACAF skipped past the venerable structure on East Capitol Street when compiling its list of 13 venues. The closest venue to the District will be Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium - presumably they'll be getting rid of the giant Ravens shield in the middle of the field between now and then.
Here is the complete list of host cities and venues from CONCACAF:
- Atlanta - Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA)
- Baltimore - M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore, MD)
- Chicago - Soldier Field (Chicago, IL)
- Dallas - Cowboys Stadium (Arlington, TX)
- Denver - Sports Authority Field at Mile High (Denver, CO)
- Hartford - Rentschler Field (East Hartford, CT)
- Houston - BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston, TX)
- Los Angeles - Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)
- Miami - Sun Life Stadium (Miami Gardens, FL)
- New York- Red Bull Arena (Harrison, NJ)
- Portland - JELD-WEN Field (Portland, OR)
- Salt Lake City - Rio Tinto Stadium (Sandy, UT)
- Seattle - CenturyLink Field (Seattle, WA)
Interesting to see Portland and Seattle on the list - you can bet those fans won't be happy (and justifiably so) until they get a USMNT game, though. Kansas City's Sporting Park is a notable omission, though, given the rave reviews it received the last time it hosted a National Team match.
As nice as it would have been to have a Gold Cup game (or two or three) at RFK, I would much prefer a World Cup Qualifier. Making things more difficult on that front, of course, is the likelihood of RFK's hosting a friendly between the U.S. and Germany to commemorate the U.S. Soccer Federation's 100th anniversary.
So, what are your thoughts on the venue list? Disappointed to see RFK left out, or are you happy to drive up to Baltimore to watch some international tournament soccer? To close things out, let's have us a little poll.