BY SCOTT FRENCH
Senior Editor
Giants Stadium was out, Philadelphia was in, and the Home Depot Center every team's aim when U.S. Soccer on Thursday announced the six venues that will be utilized for the fourth Women's World Cup this fall.
The tournament schedule and the path the U.S. women's national team will follow during the tournament have not been finalized but are expected to be unveiled sometime next week.
The new Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., the 27,000-seat home of Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy and part of U.S. Soccer's National Training Center, was awarded the championship game, to be played on Oct. 12. Sites for the opening game, quarterfinals and semifinals were not announced.
The other World Cup venues:
— Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio (capacity 22,555)– Home of MLS's Columbus Crew, built and owned by MLS investor and longtime soccer booster Lamar Hunt, and the first major soccer-specific stadium in the United States.
— Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Mass. (capacity 76,000) — MLS investor Robert Kraft's $325 million stadium, opened in 2002 to replace '99 venue Foxboro Stadium, is home to the NFL's New England Patriots and MLS's New England Revolution. The WUSA's Boston Breakers has played at Gillette in doubleheaders with the Revolution.
— Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia (capacity 66,000) — New $320 million facility for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, adjacent to Veterans Stadium, will open with the Manchester United-Barcelona exhibition on Aug. 3.
— PGE Park, Portland, Ore. (capacity 28,359) — The former Portland Civic Stadium, renovated for $38.5 million in 2001, is the only 1999 Women's World Cup venue selected this time around. Will be expanded to about 31,000 seats and have grass placed over the facility's artificial turf for this fall's tournament.
— RFK Stadium, Washington (capacity 56,454) — The home of MLS's D.C. United and the WUSA's Washington Freedom — and former home of the NFL's Washington Redskins and Major League Baseball's Washington Senators, is 42 years old and showing its age. Staged matches during the 1994 World Cup.
''There were a number of factors we considered,'' U.S. Soccer President Bob Contiguglia said during a teleconference. ''We felt it was critical to have a national footprint, and we've done that. Secondly, we thought it was critically important to have events in WUSA and MLS marketplaces, and we have four MLS venues and three WUSA venues.
''We also felt it was important to show the world what the future of soccer in the United States is, namely soccer-specific stadiums.''
The tournament is expected to be staged as 16 doubleheaders. Thirteen of the 16 entrants have been determined. They are the United States, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany Ghana, Nigeria, Norway, Russia and Sweden.
The AFC Women's Championship, currently going on in Thailand, will determine two more qualifiers — likely Japan and North Korea — and the final slot will be decided in a playoff between Mexico and another Asian team, probably Chinese Taipei or South Korea.
The tournament was originally scheduled to take place in China, but FIFA moved it to the United States last month because of the SARS crisis.
Details on tickets also will be announced in the next few weeks. There will be a private presale for members of the U.S. Soccer community and fans who register at the Federation's Web site, ussoccer.com.
The selection of the Home Depot Center for the final, Contiguglia said, was ''basically a no-brainer. … This represents to future of our game and our country.''
The stadium, about a third the size of the Rose Bowl — home to the finals of the 1984 Olympic soccer competition, the 1994 World Cup and the 1999 Women's World Cup — opened Saturday with a Galaxy victory over the Colorado Rapids. It is considered the finest soccer venue in the country.
''It helps establish that this [World Cup] is not the same as 1999,'' U.S. women's national team coach April Heinrichs said. ''The day tickets go on sale, those tickets are going to go fast. It's going to be a hot ticket. That's the best way to sell the women's game, make a demand for tickets.''
Dan Flynn, U.S. Soccer's secretary general, said about 23,000 to 25,000 tickets for the final would be made available for the title game.
''It's a wonderful facility, and that's not to say the Rose Bowl also isn't a wonderful facility,'' Flynn said. ''The challenge is for everyone to get to Carson and see the Home Depot Center. If you're there, it's a very easy decision at the end of the day. It raises the bar.
''Those unfortunate not to have a ticket have the availability of the game on TV, and that's another area of the sport we need to grow, TV and TV ratings. We think it's win-win.''
Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., which had been proposed as the site for the opening game, was eliminated from consideration on Wednesday because of conflicts with the NFL's New York Giants. Flynn said the stadium was unable to meet deadlines ''to get everything locked down and the paperwork signed and faxed over for FIFA.''
Lincoln Financial Field apparently was chosen instead of Giants Stadium, but Flynn said he ''wouldn't position it that way,'' that U.S. Soccer had negotiated with Philadelphia officials throughout the process.
The opening game is expected to be played in either Philadelphia or at Gillette Stadium near Boston. Conflicts with baseball's Philadelphia Phillies, who play at Veterans Stadium and share parking facilities with Lincoln Financial Field, may give Gillette the edge.
The opening ceremonies and first game will be played Sept. 20 or 21.
Portland, the likely site for the semifinals, beat out Seahawks Stadium in Seattle and Spartan Stadium in San Jose as the second West Coast venue following heavy lobbying led by U.S. Soccer partner Nike, which is headquartered in nearby Beaverton, Ore.
Spartan Stadium, which staged games in '99, was in U.S. Soccer's initial proposal to FIFA, but Flynn said it ''lost a numbers game'' when the decision was made to place games in four Eastern venues and two Western sites.
Seahawks Stadium, considered for semifinal matches, was beaten by a more aggressive campaign by Portland officials.
''To be candid,'' Flynn said, ''Portland was more aggressive with their bid, and that made a significant difference.'' Seahawks Stadium also had signage conflicts with World Cup sponsors.
Columbus Crew Stadium, Gillette Stadium and RFK Stadium were widely considered locks throughout the process.
Flynn said there were about a dozen facilities that were given strong consideration from among more than 40 that expressed interest in staging games.
Flynn said among the cities also considered, in addition to Seattle, San Jose and East Rutherford, were Atlanta; Birmingham, Ala.; Charlotte, N.C.; Hartford, Conn.; Las Vegas, Nev., and Phoenix. The Rose Bowl also was considered as a site for the championship game.