For the 11th consecutive year, Major League Soccer teams will hold their spring training in Tucson.
The Colorado Rapids, LA Galaxy, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City will train in Tucson as they prepare for the MLS season, which begins April 17. All but the Timbers will take part in the Visit Tucson Sun Cup, a series of exhibitions running the first week of April at Kino North Stadium. Four USL teams โ Phoenix Rising FC, El Paso Locomotive FC, La Galaxy II and New Mexico United โ will also scrimmage in Tucson.
MLS teams can begin practicing Monday; scrimmages start March 16.
FC Tucson, the city's USL League One franchise, is hosting the Visit Tucson Sun Cup. The decision of whether to allow fans in Kino North Stadium for the Sun Cup is "soon to be determined," FC Tucson said in a statement.
Columbus Crew SC won last year's Sun Cup, which was held in mid-February, before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Nine months later, the team won the MLS Cup.
"We're incredibly proud of the legacy of MLS Preseason Event and are very happy to be able to bring this back to share more high-level soccer with this community after such a difficult year," said Jon Pearlman, FC Tucson's director of soccer operations.
The Visit Tucson Sun Cup schedule is as follows:
April 3: Sporting Kansas City vs. LA Galaxy, noon; Phoenix Rising FC vs. LA Galaxy II, 1 p.m.; Colorado Rapids vs. Real Salt Lake, 6 p.m.
April 7: Colorado Rapids vs. LA Galaxy, 3 p.m.; Phoenix Rising FC vs. Real Salt Lake, 6 p.m.
April 10: LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake, 5 p.m.; Colorado Rapids vs. Phoenix Rising FC, 7:30 p.m.
Includes information from a news release.
