CARSON, CA (Thursday, May 11, 2007) - The Battle of the High School Marching Bands, presented by The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation, named seven finalists to compete on Saturday, November 17, 2007 in the fourth annual headline event.  Joining defending champion Inglewood High School from Inglewood, Calif. are six high school marching bands from across the nation; three hail locally from Los Angeles.

Los Angeles high school finalists include two returning high schools from the 2006 competition - Inglewood High School Marching Band (Inglewood, Calif.) and Jordan High School \"J Town\" Marching Band (Long Beach, Calif.) - and one band competing for the first time ever in the event, the Dominguez High \"Dons\" Marching Band from Compton, Calif. 

Other finalists named include I. C. Norcom High School \"Greyhound\" Marching Band (Portsmouth, Va.), Percy L. Julian High School \"Jaguars\" Marching Band (Chicago, Ill.), Redan High School \"Blue Thunder\" Marching Band (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Xavier Preparatory High School Marching Band (New Orleans, La).

The three local Southern California high schools will participate in a special event at STAPLES Center on June 8 at the Los Angeles Sparks home opener versus the Minnesota Lynx.  The high schools will participate in a drum-off at the game for a cash prize and the opportunity to perform at Six Flags Magic Mountain this summer. 

93.5 KDAY (home of the Steve Harvey Morning Show) will broadcast live from the Battle of the High School Marching Bands on Saturday, November 17, when the seven finalists will battle it out \"Southern Show Style\" in the 27,000-seat soccer stadium at The Home Depot Center in front of thousands of fans, and a panel of collegiate band directors and VIP celebrity guests for the grand prize of $10,000 to purchase new instruments or uniforms.

More than 100 high school marching bands applied to compete in the 2007 Battle of the High School Marching Bands, which in 2006 raised more than $100,000 for The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation and the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. 

About the VH1 Save The Music Foundation
Since VH1 Save The Music was created in 1997, more than $30 million worth of new musical instruments has been donated to 1,200 public schools in 80 cities, improving the lives of more than 700,000 children. VH1 Save The Music's many honors include the Governors' Award (a special Emmy Award), the George Foster Peabody Award for broadcast and cable excellence, and many Beacon Awards.

About The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation
The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation was established to provide financial and in-kind support for educational, recreational and social service programs which improve the lives of young people in the Greater Southern California region.  The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation has given more than $400,000 to youth organizations since The Home Depot Center opened in 2003.

About The Home Depot Center
The Home Depot Center is southern California's home of world-class competition and training facilities for amateur, Olympic, collegiate and professional athletes.  The $150 million, privately financed facility was developed and is operated by AEG on a 125-acre site on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) in Carson, California.  The Home Depot Center features an 8,000-seat tennis stadium, a 27,000-seat stadium for soccer, rugby and other athletic competitions and outdoor concerts, a 10,000-seat facility for track & field and lacrosse, the ADT Event Center (a 2,450-seat indoor velodrome for cycling) and other facilities for softball, baseball, beach volleyball, basketball and other sports. The Home Depot Center is home to three professional sports teams - Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA, and Major League Lacrosse's (MLL) Los Angeles Riptide.  Named an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site, The Home Depot Center is also home of the United States Tennis Association's (USTA) High Performance Training Center and is the national team training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF).  The David Beckham Academy for youth soccer, Andre Agassi's Safe Passage All-Stars at-risk youth tennis program and Athletes' Performance's training center for elite and professional athletes are all based at The Home Depot Center.  The Home Depot Center has additionally been designated official training sites for USA Cycling and USA Track & Field.  For more information, please visit www.homedepotcenter.com.

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CONTACT
Alison Groendal
The Home Depot Center Communications
(310) 630-2032