The Baltimore Sun: M&T Bank Stadium to host Reds v Tottenham

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club. 

A soccer rivalry that has endured for decades in Europe will hit Baltimore this summer. 

Liverpool F.C. and the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, two of Europe's most storied soccer clubs and longtime foes in the English Premier League, will play an exhibition game at M&T Bank Stadium on July 28. 

"It's unusual to get two Premier League teams playing a match in the United States. I can't say it's never happened, but it is unusual," said Ravens president Dick Cass, who was involved in the negotiations with the teams to bring them to Baltimore. "It's something that we tried to do before and it didn't happen. To get two English Premier teams to come over and play a friendly, it's really going to be great for the city. It's very gratifying."

It will be the third soccer game at M&T Bank Stadium and the first since 2010. AC Milan and Chelsea drew a sellout crowd of more than 72,000 in July 2009. A year later, approximately 36,500 fans witnessed Inter Milan play Manchester City.

Stadium officials are hoping that the matchup between two teams with global fan bases will not only attract the local soccer community, but also bring soccer fans from around the country to Baltimore.

Liverpool, nicknamed the Reds, has won 18 league championships, second most in English football to Manchester United; five European Cups; and three UEFA cups. Led by Spanish goalie Jose "Pepe" Reina, captain Steven Gerrard and high-scoring Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez, they sit in seventh place in the Premier League with an 11-10-9 record.

Tottenham has claimed eight FA cups, two UEFA cups and two league championships. Spurs are fourth in the Premier League with a 16-7-7 record behind standout midfielders Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Rafael Van der Vaart.

"We would love to get the sellout again," said Ravens vice president of ticket sales and operations Baker Koppelman, who helped broker the deal along with Cass and vice president of stadium operations Roy Sommerhof. "That's always going to be the goal. If we can't get the sellout, just to bring a big event with a lot of people is fine, too. We obviously set some financial expectations, hoping we can reach certain benchmarks."

Tickets go on sale Tuesday for the exhibition, which will be played at 1 p.m. in order to not conflict with the Orioles-Oaklands Athletics game set for a 7:05 first pitch.

"It was one of those things as we kind of got into this, we were looking at dates and we always try to avoid situations where we have conflicts on campus here because we share parking lots more than anything," Sommerhof said. "We got the Orioles involved. We had a number of conversations with them, and at the end of the day, the Orioles were very accommodating toward us playing this game at 1 and they're going to have the game at night. We appreciate their help in making this happen."

The Ravens hoped to have a soccer game at M&T Bank Stadium last summer, but they were unable to reach an agreement. However, talks for this game started as early as last July although the desired matchup quickly came into focus because of a number of factors.

Liverpool is owned by Boston Red Sox owner John Henry and the Fenway Sports Group. Sommerhof and Koppelman built relationships with several members of Boston's ownership group during their days working with the Orioles. 

"When we heard that Fenway Sports group had bought Liverpool, I asked them about it," Koppelman said. "They said when they asked Liverpool where they wanted to play in the United States, they said Baltimore. That was what they told me. It really just lit a fire. I think it's important to us to try and bring teams that are well known here. The soccer world brands are important. Liverpool has a strong brand, and they have fans all over the country that will travel to see them. It really sort of hit us. It was like, 'Wow, that's a great starting point.'"

Source: The Baltimore Sun

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.