Soccer and Foxboro (Gillette)

wilked

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Jul 17, 2005
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Is itme or did Foxborough used to host way more international soccer?

maybe I’ve missed it, but haven’t seen a game there that got me excited in a while. Copa America Centenario is last one I remember. When’s the last good USMNT friendly there? I had to go to Hartford for US/Peru a few years back. Or a good club team matchup, like Chelsea vs someone.

I miss a game like Brazil / Mexico (damn that was fun). Anyone else?
 

Vinho Tinto

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When Foxborough had natural grass it was a more attractive venue for international teams.
When MLS had fewer teams, and New England higher attendance, it was a go to place. I feel like once Columbus built their stadium, qualifiers that used to go to the Revs went there instead.
 

Titans Bastard

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On top of the grass/turf issue, since the early days of MLS there have been tons of nice new stadiums built specifically for soccer with a USMNT-appropriate capacity in the 20k-30k range. All of them are superior choices to a cavernous stadium with a turf field in the suburbs.

You only really need a giant stadium for USMNT games when they are playing Mexico in a friendly, and they'll never schedule a USA-Mexico friendly in the least Mexican part of the country.
 

SocrManiac

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You only really need a giant stadium for USMNT games when they are playing Mexico in a friendly, and they'll never schedule a USA-Mexico friendly in the least Mexican part of the country.
I don’t want to start the wrong kind of argument, but isn’t the least Mexican part of the country exactly the type of location you’d do in an attempt to give your side a home field advantage? I appreciate that the Mexican fans will still travel well, but bowing to ticket sales over giving the team their best chance to win seems shortsighted.I’m sure countries have done worse things for less advantage.
 

Spacemans Bong

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And you'd want a smaller stadium for a World Cup qualifier anyway, because at 66,000 Gillette is big enough that you can't really control ticket supply. Columbus can probably pack out the stadium with season ticket holders and their families, and so you can bet on a mostly pro-US crowd.
 

Senator Donut

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I don’t want to start the wrong kind of argument, but isn’t the least Mexican part of the country exactly the type of location you’d do in an attempt to give your side a home field advantage? I appreciate that the Mexican fans will still travel well, but bowing to ticket sales over giving the team their best chance to win seems shortsighted.I’m sure countries have done worse things for less advantage.
The United States and Mexico have only played one friendly since 1984 in Mexico. In attempt to make as much cash as possible, the two federations know playing in the US near large Mexican diaspora populations maximizes both their profits.

For competitive matches, I believe the USSF offered to play its home hex match near the border in exchange for moving the Azteca match to a sea-level city like Monterrey. FMF said no.
 

wilked

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And you'd want a smaller stadium for a World Cup qualifier anyway, because at 66,000 Gillette is big enough that you can't really control ticket supply. Columbus can probably pack out the stadium with season ticket holders and their families, and so you can bet on a mostly pro-US crowd.
I remember seeing a WCQ in Foxboro back in 1999? USA / El Salvador. Good crowd mix, lots of El Salvador fans but they were great

edit to add - this one View: https://youtu.be/lI3k7ruI3X4


good thoughts in this thread. So seems like we are screwed until Bob and Jonathan deem it time to build a real stadium for the Revs
 
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Titans Bastard

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I was also at that El Salvador game in ‘97! It was the first US game I ever attended. I badgered my dad into getting tickets and he even had a reasonably good time.
 

dirtynine

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USA/T&T 2001 in Foxboro was my debut. Donovan was a kid. Dwight Yorke was going to destroy us. And somehow 20,000 Trinidadians showed up and made one collective party noise. We qualified. Hooked from that day on.