This is getting annoying. We're less than 2 months from the hex kicking off and about 3 months from the first home game and still no word on where ANY of the games are going to be held. When are they going to decide? It's ridiculous that we already know where the team is going to be playing on the last matchday in October (Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City), but have no idea where the first home game in March is going to be yet.
I believe FIFA requires the site to be announced 60 days before the game, so we should be close. Costa Rican newspaper reported that the game on the 22nd will be in KC. I agree though, getting annoying, I want to start making plans before flights go up in cost.
Just for S/Giggles Here are my guesses.... 3-22 - vs CR in KC 6-11 - vs Panama in Columbus? DC? NY? 6-18 - vs Honduras in Philadelphia 9-10 - vs Mexico in Seattle 10-11 - vs Jamaica in Columbus
Let alone that they get two home games and don't get the Mexico game? Which is being played on turf on the west coast? That is more a wish list than a reasonable guess.
I believe the first match has been decided, but as for matches in June, hardly a big deal to not know six months in advance.
It's a half wish/half logic kind of list. Now here is my logic, if the game is in September, the US doesn't have the cold advantage or the supposed "temperature advantage" that people proclaim. So, now it comes down to venues, who legitimately has will give the US the best atmosphere with the least amount of opposing fans? I'd like to tell myself Seattle will give the US 60k screaming American soccer fans along with three points, but I'm not sure? As for the turf, who knows.
If by "announced" you mean "to the public," then Fifa is already late for the February fixtures. (But that is a Fifa friendly date, and Concacaf is the only confederation playing WCQ's that day, so I can't fault them too much.) A strict reading of the Fifa WC regulations (section 19.2) says that Fifa and the opponent must be notified 60 days in advance, but nothing about public statements. BTW, has "jedi" replace "grasshopper" in "patience" commands? And, really, Zeke (original poster), you are using PANAMA as your basis for announcing sites?
ESPN should have some sort of big announcement show like they do for Bowl Games or NCAA BB tournaments. Hype it up as much as possible and create a buzz. Have Lalas and Twellman talk about the venues. Get USA Fan reactions and comments. Stuff like that.
3-22 - vs CR in Miami 6-11 - vs Panama in New York 6-18 - vs Honduras in Houston 9-10 - vs Mexico in Los Angeles 10-11 - vs Jamaica in Washington D.C. Sleep tight.
Four years ago, the site of our first Hex home game was announced on Dec. 16, 2008. The game was on Feb. 11, 2009, 57 days later. If my math is right, we currently are 96 days away from our first home game of this Hex, on March 22, 2013, so be patient. They have to do a lot more than just decide. In many countries, the FA owns the national stadium, and it's quite simple to determine where the games will be, because all national team games are in that stadium. That's not the case in the United States. The USSF doesn't own a stadium, and it can't just tell the owner of a stadium that it will be playing there on March 22, and too bad if they don't like that. Once it has decided where it wants to play, it still has to negotiate a rental contract with the stadium owner, and it never announces a site until the contract for that game has been signed.