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MLS unveils 2010 regular season schedule
Philadelphia Union's inaugural game on March 25 kicks off league's 15th season
02/03/2010
NEW YORK -- Today MLS and its national broadcast partners announced the entire 2010 regular season schedule. For the first time in League history, every team will play each of the other 15 clubs once at home, once away, for a balanced, 30-game season and a total of 240 matches League-wide.
First Kick, presented by d**k's Sporting Goods, encompasses the opening weekend of Major League Soccer's season -- March 25-27 - and all 16 club home openers. It all begins Thursday, March 25 with the inaugural game of Philadelphia Union, the League's 16th team, against Seattle Sounders FC. The vibrant fans at Qwest Field in Seattle will provide a noisy setting for this historic opener to the League's 15th season, aired live in high definition on ESPN2 and simulcast on ESPN Deportes and ESPN360.com.
On Saturday, March 27, Fox Soccer Channel will launch its 2010 match coverage - this year in high definition -- with a California doubleheader: The San Jose Earthquakes host defending MLS Cup Champion Real Salt Lake at 9 p.m. ET before the 2009 Western Conference Champion LA Galaxy face the New England Revolution at The Home Depot Center at 11 p.m. ET. With 30-minute pre- and post-game shows, this five-hour window will provide a thorough primer for the 2010 season to fans nationwide.
TeleFutura's MLS season starts with the bang of the Texas rivalry between Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas on March 27 and continues primarily on Saturdays at 4 p.m. throughout the 2010 season. MLS and TeleFutura jointly believe that this time slot will be best for fans of MLS clubs.
Some highlights of this year's schedule include:
• All 240 games will be televised.
• Fans can watch live via the national broadcast partners, regional telecasts, the Direct Kick television package (available via select satellite and digital cable providers) or on MLSnet.com. Regional broadcast schedules will be announced by the teams as they are finalized.
• One third of the games will be broadcast live by a national TV network:
• 25 games will air live in high definition on ESPN2, and all of those, plus one game on ESPN, will be simulcast on ESPN360 and in Spanish ESPN Deportes. This is the fourth year of an eight-year partnership between MLS and ESPN.
• 31 games will be televised live in high definition on Fox Soccer Channel (FSC) and feature 30-minute pre- and post-game shows for a three-hour programming window. Most games on FSC will be simulcast in Spanish on Fox Sports en Español (FSE) in a two-hour broadcast window. Fox's MLS schedule includes four Sunday matches from July 18 to Aug. 8.
• 23 games will be broadcast live on TeleFutura, most on Saturdays starting at 4 p.m. ET.
• 75 percent of games will be played on Saturdays; 85 percent of games will be played on weekends.
• A two-week break in the MLS season aligns with the group phase of the FIFA World Cup. The last match before this break is D.C. United at Seattle Sounders FC at 10 p.m. ET (ESPN2).
• Red Bull Arena will host its first League match March 27 when the New York Red Bulls face the Chicago Fire at 7 p.m. ET (live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN360.com).
• The first MLS game to be played on natural grass at BMO Field in Toronto will be Toronto FC's April 15 match against Philadelphia Union at 7 p.m. ET (live on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN360.com).
• On Sunday, June 27, Philadelphia Union will open the ninth stadium built specifically for an MLS club. The grand opening of the venue in Chester, Pa., will be a match against Seattle Sounders FC at 5 p.m. ET (live on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN360.com).
• SuperLiga 2010 will take place this summer with the Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, Houston Dynamo, and the New England Revolution representing MLS alongside four clubs from Mexico's Primera A. Full details of the tournament will be announced in the coming weeks.
• The 2010 MLS All-Star Game will showcase top players from both conferences against a popular international club at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas in late July or early August. The date and opponent for the game will be announced at a later date, but it will be broadcast live by ESPN2 and TeleFutura.
The 2010 regular season concludes Sunday, Oct. 24 with a pair of games. Eight teams will qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs, which begin the following weekend, Oct. 28-30. The championship match, MLS Cup 2010, will be held Sunday, Nov. 21 at a venue to be announced later, live on ESPN and TeleFutura.
