Candlestick: Another event set for old park.
Fans will have at least one more chance to say goodbye to Candlestick Park before its scheduled demolition in 2015.
The U.S. men’s soccer team announced Thursday that it will play at the 49ers’ and Giants’ old homeMay 27, facing Azerbaijan as part of a three-match tuneup series before this summer’s World Cup in Brazil.
The team will face off June 1 against Turkey at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., before playing Nigeria at Ever Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla., on June 7.
“We have some fantastic opponents that will help us get prepared for the teams we will meet in the World Cup, and also the opportunity to experience different climates and conditions in the venues,” U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said in a news release.
Ticket information has yet to be released, but soccer fans are encouraged to check the U.S. Men’s National Team website for updates.
Though it hasn’t been officially announced, the U.S. team is expected to train at Stanford for the week prior to the game. That will be a critical time for cohesion: Klinsmann will have finalized his 30-man provisional roster by May 13. The deadline for setting the final World Cup roster of
23 players is June 2.
This will be the first time the U.S. team has played in the Bay Area since 2007, when the Americans took on China at San Jose State’s Spartan Stadium. The only other time in its history that the U.S. team has played in San Francisco was a game against Japan at AT&T Park (then SBC Park) in 2006.
The move comes after officials with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department announced earlier this year that they would keep Candlestick fully staffed — to the tune of $5.9 million a year — in the hopes of pulling in big-name events.
Some ideas that have been floated include celebrity games featuring past Giants and 49ers stars, a “community day” open house and — though it may be a longshot — a final farewell concert featuring Paul McCartney.
“We got a lot of things cooking,” city parks chief Phil Ginsburg said in January.