The Columbus Crew announced today that Crew Stadium will once again serve as “Cup Headquarters” by hosting viewing parties for all 64 games of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa that will be televised live on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, just as it did in 2002 and 2006.
The games will be shown in high definition on Panasonic HD televisions provided by Best Buy in the Stadium Club tent, located just west of the stadium. Parking and admission to Cup Headquarters will be free, and complementary snacks and Pepsi products will be available to fans in attendance, as will a cash bar and $1 Sugardale hot dogs throughout the tournament.
Wireless internet access will be available in the Time Warner Cable Business Center for those who wish to bring their work to Crew Stadium while they watch the games, and elements of the Crew Soccer Tour will be set up just north of the Stadium Club tent. State Farm Insurance, Claddagh Irish Pub and Montgomery Inn are also supporting the events and will be on-site at each of the 64 games.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup begins on Friday, June 11, when host South Africa takes on Mexico at 10 a.m. (ET), and runs through the July 11 final. South Africa is six hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone and games will kick off at 7:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. ET. The complete tournament schedule, along with other World Cup news and information, can be found at TheCrew.com/WorldCup.
The World Cup is the most anticipated and watched sporting event in the world. Thirty-two nations qualify for the World Cup Finals, which are held every four years, and they are drawn into eight groups of four. The top two teams in each group, after a three-game round-robin, advance to the Round of 16, which begins the knockout phase of the competition.
The United States is competing in its sixth-straight FIFA World Cup, and will battle England, Algeria and Slovenia in group play. The U.S.’s first match is against England on Saturday, June 12, at 2:30 p.m. For the third straight cycle, the U.S.’s qualifying road went through Columbus and Crew Stadium as it defeated Mexico, 2-0, on Feb. 11, 2009 in final-round qualifying.
Crew Stadium hosted the largest viewing parties in the United States during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which was co-hosted by Korea and Japan. More than 25,000 people attended the 64 televised matches at Crew Stadium, despite the games being televised in the middle of the night and early morning. Over 7,500 were in attendance for the U.S.-Germany quarterfinal match.
Founded by American sports pioneer Lamar Hunt, the Columbus Crew is Ohio's Major League Soccer club, anchoring a diverse sports and entertainment enterprise. One of the league's Charter Members, it won its first MLS Cup Championship in 2008 and has also won the 2002 U.S. Open Cup championship and MLS Supporters’ Shield titles in 2004, 2008 and 2009. It is currently in its 15th season overall and 12th in first-of-its-kind Columbus Crew Stadium.
