The 2016 Copa America Centenario was announced as officially “on” last month. On Thursday, CONCACAF announced the list of 10 cities across the United States, which includes Los Angeles, New York and Boston, that will host the three-week tournament next summer (June 3-26).
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Opting for largest capacity crowds, all 10 stadiums have a maximum capacity of well over 60,000, meaning no soccer-specific stadiums were chosen to host the tournament. The sites of the tournament’s opening game and final have not yet been announced.
Full list of 2016 Copa America host cities — most will host at least three games, per CONCACAF:
Boston (Gillette Stadium), Chicago (Soldier Field), Houston (NRG Stadium), Los Angeles (Rose Bowl), New York (MetLife Stadium), Orlando (Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium), Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field), Phoenix (University of Phoenix Stadium), San Francisco (Levi’s Stadium) and Seattle (CenturyLink Field)
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Unfortunately, the use of Gillette Stadium, MetLife Stadium, the Citrus Bowl and CenturyLink Field will mean playing games on temporary grass surfaces laid over the top of permanent turf fields, while the permanent grass field at NRG Stadium is the same surface that nearly broke Lionel Messi in a friendly earlier this year.
Say it with me: Grass is better than turf, but turf is better than temporary grass.