April 23, 2009
SELLING FAST
Tickets to qualifier over 30,000

Over 30,000 tickets have been sold for the first ever World Cup qualifer at Soldier Field, whcih also marks the return of Damarcus Beasley to Chicago. Linda Cuttone/Sports Vue Images

Ticket sales for the first FIFA World Cup qualifier ever hosted by the City of Chicago have hit the 30,000 mark. Nearly half of those expected to attend will travel more than 250 miles to witness the June 6 match between the U.S. Men’s National Team and Honduras at Soldier Field.

The match – just the fourth Saturday night qualifier hosted by the U.S. this decade – kicks off at 7 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic and Galavision. Fans can also follow along live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

Almost half – 49.5 percent – of the tickets sold to date have been purchased by fans living more than 250 miles away from Chicago. The ticket buyers for all sales represent four countries, 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The only states currently not represented are Alaska, Maine, North Dakota and Vermont. More than one-third of the fans – 35.2 percent – hail from the Chicagoland area.