AO was able to get CONCACAF to restore the original price and refund people who paid more. Still more than half the allotment available.
Obviously a great game and result, which sure helps the atmosphere. Couple quick thoughts: Pregame: I took Caltrain to the VTA, and it was a brutally long trip notably the VTA portion. Honestly don't see the time savings on that path, but I don't know enough of traffic patterns in that area. I missed the parking lot scene outside of seeing tons and tons of Mexico fans doing it up, grilling and dancing. Good scene. Stadium: obviously an NFL stadium but it's nice as expected. 63k fans, i was worried about an empty stadium but it wasn't. Felt packed and good crowd. The El Tri fans were mostly clad in neutral colors (just a scattering of green jerseys), but everyone was very much into the game. Soccer fans first and foremost. Supporters Section: turned into GA in the 2 sections and I thought it was well done. Outside of a potentially very ugly incident with a El Tri fan in the next section (thankfully was escorted out) it was all good. The capos (2 girls and 1 guy spread out in the section) worked out really well, IMO. The drums were good, and i'm not going into whether they stayed on beat or not) but they sounded good. The fans were committed to the songs and it 'felt good' in the section. After the game (i left right as Morris scored)to grab a flight out of SFO. I was expected the worst but it was a breeze. Walked towards the Uber lot and found a car, easy peasy.
The VTA between Mountain View and Levi's is a bit of a slow slog with lots of stops. The main savings is avoiding the $50 parking, and also it's easy to get lost and into the wrong lane for the wrong parking lot. I was walking to the stadium on the west side, and I saw three cars stop and ask a traffic staff guy how to get to a lot on the east side, and it's a "You can't get there from here" situation as many of the streets and lanes are blocked off. By the next time there's a US game at Levi's, the first stage of the BART Silicon Valley extension will be in operation, and there will be a BART-to-VTA link from the east, where the VTA ride is a smoother experience. From downtown SF it will probably be faster than the Caltrain option, but probably not if you're starting somewhere farther south such as SFO Airport.
I love the Bay Area but man do I hate this stadium. Seems that SUM and concacaf love it though so probably will be back again
Pretty likely to be in the Gold Cup mix every time, though I'm sure it won't be the final next time. Also it will probably get one of those money-grab US-Mexico friendlies sooner or later. I don't like the stadium either, but I like having local big events more than I dislike the stadium.
Levi's is a drag. The footbridges over the creek are the nicest things there. But that's where the big games are going to be in the Bay Area. From SF, we drive to Moffett Park VTA Park and Ride and take the trolley the rest of the way. Caltrain is expensive, infrequent and slow. Our method works great, but on weekdays, the traffic can be shockingly horrible. For the Gold Cup, we hit a jam by SFO even around 3 PM. Still made it to Moffett Park in a little over an hour. Without traffic, it would be 35 to 40 minutes. Earlier this year, it took us 2.5 hours to get to Avaya on a Wednesday afternoon. On a weekend, we can go door to door in an hour to Avaya, including the walk from the Brokaw/Coleman free parking. Same best case door to door time to Levi's if we get the trolley right as we arrive at Moffett Park. Leaving Levi's on the trolley after the game is a breeze now. They have improved the logistics considerably since our first experiences there in 2014 for Quakes/Sounders and Mexico/Chile. The Gold Cup Final was super fun.