Minnesota's Allianz Field selected as 2019 Gold Cup venue

Concacaf began unveiling their venues for next year’s Gold Cup on Monday, announcing that LAFC’s brand-new Banc of California Stadium, located in Exposition Park in the heart of Los Angeles, will host matches during next summer’s tournament, as well as University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The two stadiums are the first of 15 Gold Cup host venues in 13 cities across the United States, and in a new wrinkle for 2019, will also share hosting duties with still-to-be-announced venues in Central America and the Caribbean.

On Tuesday, three more stadiums were added to the list, with Allianz Field headlining the trio. The stadium is set to be opened for the 2019 MLS season and will be the home of Minnesota United FC. Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field and Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium were the other two venues announced.

Children's Mercy Park, home of Sporting KC, and FC Dallas' Toyota Stadium were added to the list on Wednesday along with Cleveland's FirstEnergy Stadium.

On Thursday, Colorado's Sports Authority Field at Mile High – home of the NFL's Denver Broncos – was also announced as a 2019 Gold Cup venue, as well as two Houston venues: BBVA Compass Stadium, the Houston Dynamo's home, in addition to NFL team Houston Texans' home base, NRG Stadium.

The Gold Cup's slate of US venues was completed on Friday, with Chicago as well as a second Los Angeles-area host venue unveiled. Soldier Field, the site of the 2007 and 2013 Gold Cup finals, will host matches in the Windy City, while the Rose Bowl, the original home of the LA Galaxy, was also named a venue for 2019. It's the latest in the historic Pasadena stadium's long history in the tournament, including a semifinal match in the 2017 edition.

The 2019 Gold Cup will feature an expanded field of 16 participating teams from across Concacaf, six of which have already earned qualification: Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago and the United States – are automatically qualified to the 2019 Gold Cup. Ten additional nations will qualify through Concacaf Nations League qualifiers, to be played on FIFA match dates in September, October, and November of 2018 and March of 2019.