The Montreal Impact unveils its schedule for the 2012 season

MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact unveiled Thursday its schedule for the team’s inaugural season in Major League Soccer (MLS). The team will play a total of 34 games, 17 at home and 17 on the road; all of which will be televised (TSN, RDS, TVA Sports). Within each conference, each club will play the same number of in-conference and out-of-conference games.

The Impact will kick off its first ever season in the North American first division on Saturday, March 10, against Canadian rivals Vancouver Whitecaps FC, at 6pm EST, at BC Place, in Vancouver. The team will then host its season opener at home the following Saturday, at Olympic Stadium, on March 17, against the Chicago Fire, at 2pm.

The Impact will then meet TFC on April 7, at 1pm, the Portland Timbers on April 28, at 2pm, the LA Galaxy, 2011 MLS Cup and Supporters Cup champions, on May 12, at 4pm and the New York Red Bulls and star forward Thierry Henry on May 19, at 7:30pm, all at Olympic Stadium.

After playing its 13^th game of the season, the Impact will play its first ever MLS game at Stade Saputo, expanded to seat 20,341, on Saturday, June 16, at 7:30pm, against the Seattle Sounders. Since the team joined MLS in 2009, the Sounders have become one of the elite expansion clubs in the history of professional sports, winning the last three Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups.

The Impact will play its first game against its other big Canadian rival, Toronto FC, on April 7 at Olympic Stadium. The Reds will then return to Montreal to play the Impact at Stade Saputo on June 27 at 7:30pm. The club’s only away game at BMO Field is set for October 20, at 2pm.
The Impact will play 13 home games on Saturday, three on Wednesday and one on a Sunday. In addition, more than half the night games are set for a 7:30pm start.
A HISTORIC GAME 
On top of the significance of the historic first home game for the Montreal Impact, the home opener against Chicago parallels a historic moment in Montreal soccer. It will be 30 years that the Montreal Manic established an attendance record for a soccer game at Olympic Stadium. The Manic beat the Chicago Sting by the score of 3-2 in front of 58,542 supporters, in September 1981, in the quarterfinals of the North American Soccer League playoffs.

In addition, the Impact head coach Jesse Marsch will face the club in which, as a player, he won the MLS Cup in 1998 and the Lamar Hunt U.S. open Cup in 1998, 2000 and 2003.

The league’s 17^th season will be the longest in its history, from March 10 to December 1, 2012. The 323 games will be broadcast live. A new league record will be broken on April 28, as nine games are scheduled on that day. To see the league’s complete schedule, click here.

Season ticket holders for 2012 are available in five categories, at a cost of $250, $350, $550, $850 and $1,250. It is possible to purchase tickets via the website at impactmontreal.com or by calling 514-328-3668.

2012 MONTREAL IMPACT SCHEDULE