This Tuesday, April 18, the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup schedule was officially announced, and with that came the news that Snapdragon Stadium will host one of the two semifinals of the competition.

The other semifinal will be held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, which is considerably bigger than Snapdragon as it sits 65 thousand fans compared to 35 thousand in San Diego.

It was very surprising that Snapdragon Stadium was not included in the group stage of the competition and that it will host a semifinal, given its capacity. However, Snapdragon Stadium has already shown in its early stages of life that it can bring a ton of life to the San Diego soccer scene, especially with the San Diego Wave.

The Wave set an NWSL attendance record in the 2023 season-opener against the Chicago Red Stars, with 30,854 fans in the stands. Since then, Snapdragon Stadium has hosted men’s professional soccer as Club Tijuana played Club America at the Mission Valley fortress with well over 20 thousand fans in attendance.

INBOX: Concacaf has announced the Gold Cup schedule for this summer, which includes semifinals going to San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium and Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, which hosted the 2021 final. The 2023 final is at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium on July 16.

— Shawn Medow (@ShawnMedow) April 18, 2023

Snapdragon Stadium is also set to host a much-anticipated friendly match between Manchester United and Wrexham on July 25. There are more and more notable soccer events taking place at the San Diego stadium while regularly hosting one of the best teams in the NWSL.

The Gold Cup is the prestige competition in the CONCACAF region where both Mexico and the United States play, and it is usually a battle between Mexico and the U.S. for the crown. The last Gold Cup in 2021 saw the USMNT defeat Mexico 1-0 in the final at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The Gold Cup is also the prized competition for the CONCACAF federation to earn money with sold-out stadiums for the Mexico national team across the United States. If Mexico makes the 2023 semifinal, it is likely that El Tri will play its game at Allegiant Stadium due to the golden opportunity to make as much money as possible for the region. This opens the door for the USMNT possibly playing a game in San Diego, which is definitely not a common venue for the Stars and the Stripes.

The semifinal played at Snapdragon Stadium is set for Wednesday, July 12, and is expected to be a sellout with an immense atmosphere, regardless of the teams that take the pitch.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.