ATLANTA — Soccer fans from thoughout North America are expected to descend on Atlanta on Wednesday, as the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals -- featuring the U.S. Men's National team, as well as Mexico -- kick off at the Georgia Dome.
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced Monday the official pairings and start times of the two semifinal matches to be played in front of a sold out Dome crowd.
Defending champion United States will meet Caribbean champion Jamaica in the first semifinal at 6 p.m., while 2013 Gold Cup runner-up Panama will face six-time tournament winner Mexico at 9 p.m.
More than 68,000 fans are expected, and the event will likely mark the largest crowd ever to attend a soccer match in Atlanta, besting the previous record of 68,212 for a March 5, 2014 Mexico tour match at the Georgia Dome against Nigeria.
NOTES: The Georgia Dome and CONCACAF would like to remind fans that there is a potential danger of being sold counterfeit tickets via the secondary market. The only authorized outlets for the Gold Cup Semifinal tickets are Ticketmaster, the Georgia Dome ticket office and Ticketmaster’s Ticket Exchange program. Buyers who purchase tickets from any other source do so at their own risk.)
-- Organizers encourage fans with tickets to arrive early and enjoy Futbol Fiesta, the fan interactive zone located within the Georgia International Plaza and beginning at 4 p.m., when stadium gates open. Fans are encouraged to secure their parking passes in advance at gadome.com, with lots to open by noon
-- Fans without a pre-paid parking pass are strongly encouraged to take MARTA to the Georgia Dome as all parking lots will sell out early. MARTA provides many free parking options at stations system-wide. The Georgia Dome has two transit stations within walking distance, the Georgia Dome Station and the Vine City Station. For complete information on traveling with MARTA, visit itsmarta.com.
-- The 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup finals weekend will kick off with the third-place game on Saturday, July 25 at 4:00 p.m. ET at PPL Park in Chester, PA, with the grand finale to take place on Sunday, July 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Tickets for both Philadelphia matches are still available by visiting GoldCup.org.
