PPL Park to host U.S. men's national team on Oct. 12

The news has just broken that PPL Park will host the United States men's national team's friendly against Colombia on October 12.

J.P. Dellacamera made the announcement during the first half of the broadcast of the Philadelphia Union's game at New England tonight. It was speculated last week by Steven Goff of the Washington Post that PPL Park would make a good venue for the U.S.-Colombia match, which had originally been scheduled for an unnamed venue in the New York area. The presumption was that the game would go to Red Bull Arena, but the deal was never finalized.

I got a "no comment" from the Union on Friday when I asked them whether any negotiations had taken place, and from elsewhere got signals that the wheels were indeed in motion. Now it's official.

So even though the Union won't make the playoffs, we are in for a wild October at PPL Park. Consider this fixture list:

October 2: Philadelphia Union vs. Houston Dynamo
October 6: United States Women vs. China
October 7: Philadelphia Union vs. Los Angeles Galaxy
October 12: United States Men vs. Colombia
October 16: Philadelphia Union vs. New York Red Bulls

That's two national team games, separate visits by Brian Ching and Landon Donovan, and a night with Thierry Henry and Rafael Márquez. All in a two-week span.