Home Depot Center News

A Quick Look at The Home Depot Center Headlines for the Month of December 2008

COMMUNITY:
Charitable Foundation to host fifth annual
Battle of the High School Marching Bands this Saturday
CIF FOOTBALL:
Back-to-back state high schoolfootball championships December 19 & 20
US WNT RETURN TO CARSON:
U.S. Women's National Soccer Team to face China December 13
MLS OFF-SEASON UPDATES:
Galaxy on the road in New Zealand;Chivas USA 2009 season seats on sale now
WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL SOCCER:
Los Angeles Sol offer special holiday ticket package
TENNIS:
The USTA to host Elite Player Development camps in December
CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS:
Host your company holiday party at The Home Depot Center
UP NEXT IN JANUARY:
2009 InterLiga, U.S. Men's National Team Soccer, Mia Hamm & Nomar Garciaparra Celebrity Soccer Challenge and more!

BATTLE OF THE BANDS RETURNS ON SATURDAY: The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation will host the fifth annual Battle of the High School Marching Bands this Saturday, December 6 at 2:00 p.m. at The Home Depot Center. The \"Southern Show style\" marching band competition features five high schools from across the U.S. who will compete for the grand prize of $10,000. Finalists competing on Saturday include three local Los Angeles high schools - Crenshaw High School (Los Angeles, Calif.), Dominguez High School (Compton, Calif.) and Inglewood High School (Inglewood, Calif.). Other finalists include Clifton J. Ozen Magnet High School from Beaumont, Tx. and Percy L. Julian High School from Chicago, Ill. All event proceeds go to The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation and the VH1 Save The Music Foundation to support music and arts education in schools. General admission tickets are available for only $10 at The Home Depot Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets, including Ticketmaster.com. and are on sale now. Group tickets are available for only $8 for groups of 15 or more, and can be purchased by calling 1-866-LAGROUP. For more information, please visit www.homedepotcenter.com.

CIF STATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BOWL GAMES CLOSE OUT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL IN DECEMBER: The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) will crown high school football state champions Friday-Saturday, December 19-20 at The Home Depot Center. A team from Northern California will face a team from Southern California in each of five divisions, based on school enrollment. Game times on Friday are 4: 30 p.m. (Small Schools Division) and 8:00 p.m. (Division I). Saturday's schedule is 12:00 p.m. (Division III), 4:00 p.m. (Division II) and 8:00 p.m. (Open Division). Teams selected to compete in these games will be announced Sunday, December 14 at a 3:30 p.m. press conference at The Home Depot Center. A concurrent teleconference will be set up for media who are unable to attend in person. KBCSports.com also will provide live coverage of the selections on their web site. Media will have an opportunity for interviews with those participating coaches who elect to attend an informational meeting Monday, December 15, during a luncheon from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at The Home Depot Center American Express Stadium Club. Tickets for the Bowl Games are $15 for adults and $8 for high school students (with valid ASB card), children and seniors. A separate ticket is required for each day. All seats are general admission. Tickets can be purchased at The Home Depot Center Box Office, Ticketmaster outlets or www.ticketmaster.com. Other gameday events include the UCA/Macy's State High School Cheerleading and Dance Championships and the CIF/NIKE Football Coaches Clinic. Applications for media credentials to the state championship games are available at www.cifstate.org under the \"Media\" link on the left side of the home page. For more information on the CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games, the media availabilities and/or the teleconference phone number, contact Emmy Zack, CIF Director of Communications at 510-521-4447 or ezack@cifstate.org.

U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM TO FACE CHINA IN CARSON ON DEC. 13: The gold medal-winning U.S. Women's National Soccer Team returns to the field in December for two matches against China, the first taking place on Dec. 13 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. at 6:00 p.m. The USA will also face China Dec. 17 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The two games will end what has been an historic year for the U.S. women, who have compiled a 31-1-2 mark in 2008, setting records for wins and best winning percentage in a calendar year. The matches mark the return to the U.S. roster of long-time legend Kristine Lilly, who took most of 2008 off as she gave birth to her first child last June. Lilly, who is by far the world's all-time leader in caps at 340, has not played for the USA in over a year, last appearing on Oct. 20, 2007, in a 1-1 draw with Mexico. Two of the youngest members of the 2008 Olympic gold medal team also return to the roster after finishing their college seasons for Los Angeles-area universities. USC forward Amy Rodriguez, who recently completed her senior season for the Trojans, played a key role in the USA's gold medal triumph, starting the last five games of the Olympics. UCLA forward Lauren Cheney, who helped the Bruins to an undefeated regular season, came off the bench in the final three games of the 2008 Olympics to play some valuable minutes. U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage will have 22 players at her disposal for the two matches, which of course includes all of the players who were on the field during the historic win over Brazil in the gold medal game. The match at The Home Depot Center will be the fifth at the stadium for U.S. midfielder Shannon Boxx, who grew up just minutes away in Torrance, Calif. Boxx has scored in all four appearances with the U.S. National Team in Carson. She was recently named to the short list for FIFA Women's Player of the Year along with U.S. teammate Hope Solo. Tickets for the match at The Home Depot Center ranging in price from $18 to $60, plus special edition U.S. Soccer on-field seats for $150, are on sale through ussoccer.com, by phone (213-480-3232 in L.A.; 714-740-2000 in Orange County; 619-220-8497 in San Diego), and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout Southern California (including Macy's, FYE and Ritmo Latino). Fans can also buy tickets at The Home Depot Center Box Office, open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Groups of 20 or more can obtain an order form at ussoccer.com or call 312-528-1290. The U.S women will begin training at The Home Depot Center on Dec. 8. For more information, please visit www.ussoccer.com.

GALAXY OFFER FANS THE OPPORTUNITY TO 'LIVE THE DREAM': The LA Galaxy is offering its fourth annual Galaxy Fantasy Camp, which will be held at The Home Depot Center from December 17-21. If you are 18 or over, this is your chance to spend five days living the life of a professional soccer player by receiving professional instruction from Galaxy alumni, coaches, players and executives, while also having access to all of the club's facilities, including the locker room, lounge and medical and training rooms. All campers will also receive a professional Galaxy uniform, complete with their name and number and memories that will last a lifetime. Among this year's scheduled instructors are former U.S. Men's National Team and LA Galaxy player Paul Caligiuri and former Galaxy coach Ralph Perez. Registration closes this Friday, December 5. Please visit www.lagalaxy.com to learn more about the Galaxy Adult Fantasy Camp. In other team news, the Galaxy departed this week for their Dec. 1 friendly against the Oceania All-Stars at Mt. Smart Stadium, in Auckland, New Zealand. For media inquiries, please contact Patrick Donnelly, (310) 630-2214 or pdonnelly@lagalaxy.com, Justin Pearson, (310) 630-2216 or jpearson@lagalaxy.com, or Jaime Cárdenas, (310) 630-2215 or jcardenas@lagalaxy.com, in the Galaxy Communications Department. For more information, please visit www.lagalaxy.com or www.lagalaxyfutbol.com.

CHIVAS USA 2009 SEASON TICKETS NOW ON SALE; SEASON STARTS ON MARCH 21: Following its third consecutive playoff appearance in four seasons, Chivas USA has officially announced its ticket pricing for the 2009 Major League Soccer season. New 'Corners' sections have been added to Chivas USA's seating chart at The Home Depot Center, while the 'Sidelines' section has been expanded, and fans can now sit even closer to midfield for a better price. Season Seats, starting at just $10 per game for an 18-game package, as well as 10- or 5-game packs, can be purchased by calling 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visiting cdchivasusa.com. The Red-and-White kick off their fifth campaign in MLS when they host the Colorado Rapids on Opening Day 2009, Saturday, March 21 in Carson, in a game that will air live at 7:30 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Español. For Chivas USA media information please contact Keegan Pierce (kpierce@cdchivasusa.com / 310-630-4575), Eduard Cauich (ecauich@cdchivasusa.com / 310-630-4554), or David Lindholm (dlindholm@cdchivasusa.com / 310-630-4552) at Chivas USA Communications.

LOS ANGELES SOL OFFER SPECIAL HOLIDAY PACKS: Share the gift of Los Angeles Sol soccer and Sol merchandise this holiday! Purchase any 2009 Sol Season Ticket between now and December 31 and receive 50% off Sol merchandise from the Team LA Store! Each Holiday Pack includes full season seat benefits, Sol season ticket certificate, 50% off Sol merchandise and Sol tattoos and stickers. Season tickets for the inaugural year of Sol soccer at The Home Depot Center range from $125 to $750 and are on sale. For more information or to purchase your tickets today, please call toll free at 1-877-4-SOL-TIX or visit www.LosAngelesSol.com.

ADT EVENT CENTER RIDERS HEAD TO ZURICH, AUSTRALIA: ADT Event Center junior riders Danny Heely and Ian Moire are heading off to Zurich for the 6-Day Race, which starts on December 10. The 17-year olds will face off against the best Under-23 year olds in the world in what is considered the most grueling of endurance events on the Swiss track. In addition, Christine Barron, Jesse Marans and Kristen King leave this week for The Revolution, a two-week racing series in Australia. Austin Carroll, who began racing at the ADT Event Center just two years ago, recently returned from Europe and now leads the World Standings, after finishing 2nd in the 6-Day of Ghent, Belgium. With a win in Dortmund and a 3rd in Munich, Carroll has gained points over his track cycling rivals in Belgium and Holland. In other cycling news, the U.S. National Team will be conducting an endurance training camp for some 30 elite men and women cyclists from December 15-21. For more information on ADT Event Center activities and daily classes offered to the public, please visit www.lavelodrome.org.

HOST YOUR COMPANY HOLIDAY PARTY AT THE HOME DEPOT CENTER: Looking for a venue to host your 2008 holiday party? The Home Depot Center offers a full-service restaurant and bar, the American Express Stadium Club, available for rental for private events. Take advantage of holiday specials anytime in the month of November or December by contacting Kirsten Anderson for details and pricing at (310) 630-2022 or kanderson@homedepotcenter.com.

USTA UPDATE: Some of the country's top young tennis players will attend a national tennis camp at the USTA Player Development facility at The Home Depot Center December 5-7. Sixteen girls ages 9-10 were selected by members of the USTA National Coaching Staff based on their performance at various sectional and regional camps held in 2007. The campers will work with USTA National Coaches and will receive on-court instruction, video analysis and nutritional and developmental advice. For more information on the USTA Player Development program, please visit www.usta.com or contact Andrew Labovitz at Labovitz@usta.com.

UP NEXT IN JANUARY: 2009 InterLiga, U.S. Men's National Team Soccer, Mia Hamm & Nomar Garciaparra Celebrity Soccer Challenge and more…

InterLiga 2009
Thursday, January 8
Morelia vs. Pachuca - 6:00 p.m.
Toluca vs. UAG - 8:30 p.m.

Friday, January 9
Atlas vs. Club America - 6:30 p.m.
Tigres UANL vs. CD Guadalajara - 9:00 p.m.

Sunday, January 11
Final 1 - 4:00 p.m.
Final 2 - 6:30 p.m.
Media contact: SUM Communications / (212) 450-1222 or communications@SUMworld.com
Tickets: On-sale in December. Please visit www.InterLiga.com for more information.

Mia Hamm & Nomar Garciaparra Celebrity Soccer Challenge
Saturday, January 17 - 1:00 p.m.
Tickets: www.homedepotcenter.com

U.S. Men's National Team vs. Sweden
Saturday, January 24 - 5:30 p.m.
Tickets: www.ussoccer.com or www.homedepotcenter.com
Media contact: David Applegate / dapplegate@ussoccer.com

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