CyberRays disappointed that World Cup will skip Bay Area

June 12, 2003 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
San Jose CyberRays News Release


SAN JOSE (June 12, 2003) – U.S. Soccer has announced that the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup will be played in six American cities, but that the Bay Area will not be included in the tournament.

The every-four-years world soccer championship will be played at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio; Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. (near Boston); Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. (near Los Angeles); Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa.; PGE Park in Portland, Ore.; and RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

``We are very disappointed that Spartan Stadium was not included in the World Cup,'' CyberRays general manager Marlene Bjornsrud said. ``This will be a great World Cup, and we understand the difficulties in undertaking it on short notice, but it's inconceivable that such a championship could be played in this country and the Bay Area be entirely left out.''

About half the players contending for roster spots on the U.S. World Cup team either grew up in the Bay Area, played their college soccer here or now play for the CyberRays in the WUSA. More than 115,000 fans attended the three 1999 World Cup dates played in the Bay Area, and nearly 45,000 attended the two doubleheaders played in Spartan Stadium despite the absence of the U.S. team.

This year's World Cup was originally scheduled to be played in China but was moved because of the SARS outbreak.

However, U.S. Soccer officials said that they were limited in their venue selections by FIFA's desire to avoid repetitive coast-to-coast travel, which was a complaint received following the 1999 World Cup in the United States. In an effort to maintain a national footprint for the event, the tournament plan calls for teams to begin on the East Coast and move west to an Oct. 12 final in the Home Depot Center, the nation's newest soccer-specific stadium. Only two western cities are included, and Portland's bid was stronger than those submitted by Seattle and San Jose, said Dan Flynn, U.S. Soccer's secretary general.



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