Tampa's world-class soccer event attracting wide interest, sales Tampa Bay Business Journal - 2:58 PM EST Tuesday, February 27, 2007 by Alexis Muellner There has been strong fan response to the first-ever world-class soccer match coming to Raymond James Stadium March 25. When the U.S. Men's Soccer team meets the national team of Ecuador, it will be the first game of its kind in the Tampa Bay area in nearly a decade. As of Tuesday, more than 12,000 tickets have been sold for the event. "That compares favorably to some of our more popular events we played last year," said Paul Marstaller, director of events at the U.S. Soccer Federation in Chicago. That includes the three games for U.S. Soccer last year leading up to the World Cup. Those were played in Nashville, Tenn., Cleveland and Hartford, Conn., and eventually had attendance of between 22,000 and 28,000, Marstellar said. While there is still a month to go, the 12,000 mark bodes well. "We're hoping that's the case," he said. "We're still not yet at the goal that we set internally so there's work to be done, but we're very optimistic that we will meet and exceed our internal expectations for this game." Other data that bodes well for local tourism is geographic sales. More than 18 percent of all tickets sold are from areas greater than 100 miles from the stadium, U.S. Soccer said. "So clearly this is an event that will be bringing a significant number of folks that are not local to the region, into the area and have a benefit not only in the stands but in the local community as well," Marstellar said. Tickets on sale now! FIELD SEATING US $147.50 LEVEL 2 - 2ND LEVEL OF 3 LEVELS US $23.30 - US $65.50 LEVEL 1 - LOWEST OF 3 LEVELS US $16.75 - US $47.50 LEVEL 3 - LAST LEVEL OF 3 LEVELS US $23.30 - US $33.50