men's final. The opening match would be played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, near New York City. The tournament's organizing committee estimated that the 1999 World Cup would average an attendance of 25,000 per match, with U.S. matches and later knockout ties at near sellouts in the larger venues. Jack Kent Cooke Stadium in Landover, Maryland, serving the Washington, D.C. market, had a limited capacity of 41,000 seats because of ongoing construction during the group stage. It was later raised to 55,000 for the quarter-finals. Two smaller venues, Civic Stadium in Portland, Oregon, and Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California, were chosen to each host several group stage matches and one quarter-final doubleheader. For the tournament, Civic Stadium was outfitted with a temporary grass field that was laid over its artificial turf surface, which debuted during a warm-up friendly on June 6. Other venues underwent small modifications to host the tournament's matches, including converting American football locker rooms to accommodate more teams and changing the dimensions of the playing field. Ticket pre-sales at discounted prices began in October 1997 and over 300,000 were sold by April 1999. By early June, ticket sales had reached 500,000—setting a new record for a women's sporting event by surpassing the NCAA women's basketball tournament. The opening weekend's eight matches were organized into four doubleheaders that attracted a total of 134,236 spectators, surpassing the total attendance for the 1995 World Cup; the United States–Denmark match drew a crowd of 78,972 at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, setting a new U.S. record for attendance at a women's sporting event. That figure was later surpassed by the final, played between the United States and China at the Rose Bowl in front of a crowd of 90,185 spectators—a world record for women's sports. Participating teams and officials Qualification The 1999 Women's World Cup had sixteen participating teams, an increase from the twelve in 1995 and the largest field in the tournament's history. Ghana, Mexico, North Korea, and Russia all made their Women's World Cup debuts at the 1999 tournament, with Mexico being the first Spanish-speaking country to qualify while Russia being the first Slavic country to qualify. Of the remaining twelve teams, three were returning for their second tournament; nine had participated in all three editions since 1991. The tournament's seven best quarter-finalists also qualified for the 2000 Sydney Olympics alongside hosts Australia. The United