CARSON, CA (Saturday, November 18, 2006) - In the tightest competition in the history of the three-year event, the 2006 Battle of the High School Marching Bands, presented by The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation, crowned Inglewood High School (Inglewood, Calif.) 2006 Champions in a tie-breaking drum-off with Crenshaw High School to end the night. Crenshaw High School (Los Angeles, Calif.) took second place and Heritage High School (Newport News, Va.) came in third in front of 9,959 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills. All proceeds from the event go to The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation and the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, to disperse funds to elementary, middle and high school arts and music departments across the United States.

Inglewood High battled it out \"southern show style\" and won $10,000 to purchase new instruments or uniforms for their school, plus new shoes compliments of Drillmasters Shoes, Corp. and REMO. Inglewood High becomes the first-ever Los Angeles-based school to win the event.

Inglewood was named No. 1 by a panel of celebrity guest judges, including Macy Gray, Sheila E., Verdine White and Miguel Gaetan. Bands were also judged by alumni band directors from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including Prairie View University (Prairie View, Tx.), Florida A&M University (Tallahassee, Fla.), Southern University & A&M College (Baton Rouge, La.), Norfolk State University (Norfolk, Va.) and Grambling State University (Grambling, La.).

Also announced tonight was a special, surprise award naming Percy L. Julian High School the 2006 Best Drill Team, a new title added to the event this year.

Other high schools who competed, in addition to the winners include Alain Locke High School (Los Angeles, Calif.), David Starr Jordan High School (Long Beach, Calif.), Inglewood High School (Inglewood, Calif.) and F.L. Schlagle High School (Kansas City, Kan.). Tomorrow, all seven marching band finalists will appear in the Disneyland Parade on Main Street at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.

The finalists were selected out of a pool of more than 100 applicants in April. To apply, schools were required to submit a VHS tape or DVD with one video and audio performance by their high school marching band.

In addition to the marching band competition, the show was opened by special guest speaker Afeni Shakur, mother of legendary rap artist \"2Pac\" and included special performances by today's popular music artists Keke Palmer, Ak'Sent and Nuttin' But Stringz. The show was closed by Carson's Glory Christian Fellowship International Praise Team, Choir & Band and International Dance Ministries.

Last year, the event raised more than $100,000. All proceeds benefit The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation and the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. Gold sponsors for this year's event were Time Warner Cable, Disneyland, American Express and 100.3 The Beat.

About the VH1 Save The Music Foundation
Since the VH1 Save The Music Foundation was created in 1997, $34 million worth of new musical instruments have been donated to 1,400 public schools in 80 cities, improving the lives of more than 800,000 children.

About The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation
The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation was established to provide financial and in-kind support for educational, recreational and social service programs which improve the lives of young people in the Greater Southern California region. The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation has given more than $400,000 to youth organizations since The Home Depot Center opened in 2003.

About The Home Depot Center
The Home Depot Center is southern California's home of world-class competition and training facilities for amateur, Olympic, collegiate and professional athletes. The $150 million, privately financed facility was developed and is operated by AEG on a 125-acre site on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) in Carson, California. The Home Depot Center features an 8,000-seat tennis stadium, a 27,000-seat stadium for soccer, rugby and other athletic competitions and outdoor concerts, a 10,000-seat facility for track & field and lacrosse, the ADT Event Center (a 2,450-seat indoor velodrome for cycling) and other facilities for softball, baseball, beach volleyball, basketball and other sports. The Home Depot Center is home to three professional sports teams - Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy; Club Deportivo (CD) Chivas USA; and Major League Lacrosse's (MLL) Los Angeles Riptide. Named an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site, The Home Depot Center is also home of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) USA Tennis High Performance Training Center and is the national team training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF). The David Beckham Academy for youth soccer, Andre Agassi's Safe Passage All-Stars at-risk youth tennis program and Athletes' Performance's training center for elite and professional athletes are all based at The Home Depot Center. The Home Depot Center has additionally been designated official training sites for USA Cycling and USA Track & Field. For more information, please visit www.homedepotcenter.com.

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Contact
Alison Groendal, The Home Depot Center Communications
(310) 630-2032