Gillette will host AC Milan vs. Benfica in July - grass incoming?

Gillette Stadium has held multiple big-time soccer matches outside of the Revolution, and the summer of 2019 will be no different.

The Revolution announced Wednesday that The House That Brady Built will host one match in the International Champions Cup competition on Sunday, July 28, as Italian power AC Milan will take on top Portuguese side Benfica.

The International Champions Cup, which has been played every summer — preseason for European leagues — since 2013, contests 11 fixtures in the United States, along with other matches around the world. Last year, the competition consisted of 17 matches in the U.S.

The Revs and Gillette hosted Italian giants AS Roma and Juventus FC in July 2017, which saw Juve win on penalties.

Kickoff time for Milan and Benfica has not yet been set.

BSJ Analysis

Three big-time European clubs coming to Route 1. Mark your calendars.

For timing purposes, the date of the Milan-Benfica match is interesting: the Revs play Orlando City the night before — Saturday, July 27 at 8 p.m. And remember there is the Revolution friendly match with England’s Chelsea FC on Wednesday, May 15.

And with European clubs preferring to play on natural grass surfaces instead of plastic pasture, one can safely bet the mortgage that there will be natural grass in place for not only that summer weekend, but for the fixture with Chelsea, too.

But let’s take a deeper look: with the match against Chelsea and the Milan-Benfica match two months later, does this mean that Gillette will have a natural grass surface for not two — Chelsea, Orlando City — but upward of seven Revolution matches?! That grass has to settle in, right? And I can’t see the stadium springing for the cost of two separate grass surfaces two-and-a-half months apart.

And seeing as it feels this particular Revs team has been built for the road, where practically every other club in MLS has natural grass surfaces, that could be an incredibly good thing for a good chunk of this season.