Washington, D.C., and San Jose, California, as well as an unsubmitted speculative bid from Chicago. The match was played six days after a home game for the New England Patriots of the National Football League, necessitating the retention of the stadium's bleacher sections. As a result, the field was narrowed from to , and had visible dirt patches and yard lines. Approximately 30,000 tickets were sold before the finalists were confirmed. Road to the final The MLS Cup is the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), a professional club soccer league based in the United States that began playing in 1996. Twelve teams contested the league's fourth season; teams were organized into two conferences, each playing 32 matches during the regular season from March to September. Teams faced opponents from the same conference four times during the regular season, and from outside their conference twice. Before the season began, MLS reduced the number of permitted international players from five to four as a cost-saving measure. The top four teams from each conference qualified for the playoffs, which were organized into three rounds and played primarily in October. The first two rounds, named the Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals, were home-and-away series organized into a best-of-three format with a hosting advantage for the higher-seeded team. The winners of the Conference Finals advanced to the single-match MLS Cup final, which would be held at a predetermined neutral venue. MLS Cup 1999 was contested by two-time champions D.C. United and the Los Angeles Galaxy, both of which had played in the inaugural 1996 final, which ended in a 3–2 overtime victory for United. The 1996 final had also been played at Foxboro Stadium, and the 1999 match was the fourth consecutive MLS Cup appearance for United. The 1999 final was the first to be contested by the regular season winners of both conferences. During the regular season, the Galaxy and United met twice, each winning on the road. Los Angeles Galaxy Since their MLS Cup 1996 appearance, the Los Angeles Galaxy had qualified for the playoffs twice but were eliminated in earlier rounds. During the 1998 regular season, the team finished atop the league standings with a 24–8 record, which included a run of nine consecutive wins and a record 85 goals. The Galaxy earned two shootout wins at the start of the 1999 season but then lost three consecutive matches where