SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Clásico returns to Petco Park this summer, featuring a doubleheader of international soccer matches between some of Mexico's top clubs on Saturday, July 12. Club América will take on Dorados de Sinaloa in the first match, beginning at 5:00 p.m. Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente, commonly referred to as Xolos de Tijuana or simply Xolos, will face Cruz Azul in the nightcap, slated for an 8:00 p.m. start.
"We are excited to welcome the San Diego Clásico back to Petco Park this summer," said Vice President of Petco Park Events Jeremy Horowitz. "The enthusiastic response to last year's Clásico made it very clear that there is a real appetite for soccer here in San Diego, and that Petco Park can be transformed into a fantastic venue for this type of event, bringing additional traffic and business to the Gaslamp and East Village neighborhoods."
"The San Diego Clásico will be a huge night of soccer for our community at a great venue like Petco Park," said Anthony Fernandez from Pazzo Sports, the event promoter. "All of these teams playing have tremendous regional and local fan bases. We're expecting a huge crowd of supporters for both matches. It's going to be an amazing night of soccer for San Diego."
Last year's Clásico between the Xolos and América at Petco Park on July 6, 2013 resulted in a 5-2 win by the Xolos in front of 28,759 fans. The outfield layout for this year's matches will be the same as the 2013 exhibition.
Xolos and América also met in the 2012 Clásico at Qualcomm Stadium, playing to a 1-1 draw. 2014 will be Club América's third appearance in the San Diego Clásico, and the Xolos' fifth, which also includes a March 2011 match vs. the Los Angeles Galaxy of the MLS and a February 2012 contest vs. Chivas USA.
Cruz Azul from Mexico City was the top regular season team in the last Mexican tournament, the 2014 Clausura. Dorados, one of Mexico's Second Division's more popular teams, reached the playoffs in the LIGA de Ascenso last season.
The 2014 San Diego Clásico will mark the fourth and fifth soccer matches contested at Petco Park. In 2005, the park hosted an international match between Mexico and Sweden, drawing a crowd of more than 30,000. The 'ChivaClásico', an exhibition between Chivas USA and Chivas de Guadalajara, was played in 2010 in front of 23,216 fans.
Both games of the doubleheader are included in the price of one ticket. Tickets for both games will go on sale the first week in June. They will be available for purchase at the Petco Park Box office, online at sandiegoclasico.com and at all Ticketmaster locations.
