International Spotlight Shines on Prince George’s County

Last week, Prince George’s County took center stage in the sports world as it hosted two international sporting events: the Citi Open and the World Football Challenge.  Beginning on July 23, the Tennis Center at College Park hosted the inaugural Citi Open, a professional women’s tennis tournament.  The Citi Open is part of the Women’s Tennis Association’s summer schedule.  It was one of only nine tournaments held stateside and one of only three WTA international-level events held in the USA.

Pics from last night

Sold Out Soccer

It’s official – the Chelsea FC-AC Milan soccer match taking place at M&T Bank Stadium July 24th has sold out, ten days before the event. This “friendly” is more than an exhibition . For the first time, the European soccer teams who cross the pond post season will be participating in a round robin tournament known as the World Football Challenge. Each team plays three times in the six matches, accumulating points to determine the winner of the inaugural Challenge. The event in Baltimore will be broadcast live on ESPN.

Baltimore, with its avid soccer community, is a natural to host a contest between two teams recognized as the best of the best. The fact that this came about is a tribute to the synergy created by the Office of Sports Marketing and the Baltimore Ravens, who took quick advantage of an opening in the schedule to land this premiere event (au revior, Montreal) on very short notice.

The showcase event gives us yet another opportunity to demonstrate why Maryland is such an excellent choice. We’ll be commenting as more preparations take place prior to Friday’s face off.