OT: 44 cities in North America seeking to host FIFA World Cup 2026

[Albatros]

It was built to be dual purpose. Its hosted football and soccer in the past (Man U vs Celtic and Liverpool vs TFC). The only problem is that Rogers has been planning to retrofit the stadium to a pure baseball stadium (sort of like what Anaheim did with their stadium).

It looks like the soccer configuration would need a lot of work to meet the expectations, not sure if that is doable even:

 

[Jeffrey93]

It looks like the soccer configuration would need a lot of work to meet the expectations, not sure if that is doable even:

As far as I know....level 100 seats can be rotated. The Jays plan/planned on this no longer being an option as they plan/planned to install natural grass. Of course, the seats rotating to that configuration would destroy the grass.

Not sure if natural grass is still planned at SkyDome or not....until it is installed the movement of Level 100 seats can be done.

 

[theaub]

Rogers Center is a terrible venue for soccer. BMO Field is barely adequate if they can get a real field out there.

Not sure what 'real field' means considering BMO has one of the best pitches on the continent.

Considering Canada is only hosting group stage + R32 matches, a 40K stadium is adequate.

 

[Burke the Legend]

Not sure if natural grass is still planned at SkyDome or not....until it is installed the movement of Level 100 seats can be done.

It would have to be viewed as a failure of management if the Jays/Rogers can't get natural grass in by 2026. It is an ongoing embarrassment for the club and they have the last stadium with an indefinite turf situation (Tampa is going to grass one way or another).

 

[cbcwpg]

correct me if I am wrong

but all stadiums need natural grass or did fifa change that rule

if so--that takes out a lot of cities

Some requirements according to this article. Why Winnipeg, who quite successfully hosted games of the Women's 2015 World Cup, didn't bother trying to bid for the Men's. Just can't meet the requirements.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2017/08/15/winnipeg-left-off-world-cup-list

“We had some tough questions they had tough answers to,†Manitoba Soccer Association executive director Hector Vergara was saying, Tuesday. “And based on that information it was determined that it wasn't feasible. The requirement of the men's World Cup is much different than the requirements of the women's World Cup. It's the way FIFA operates.

- The stadiums, which must have 40,000 permanent seats. Not temporary -- permanent.

- the FIFA requirement for grass fields.

- They require at least two practice venues per team, and they have to be grass fields. And they have to be at the same level as the actual playing field for the competition. Dressing rooms, all the amenities required by them.

- another of FIFA's demands: luxury accommodations for the pampered athletes and VIP's. They need five-star hotels, as well as the number of rooms to go with that.

****

Some of these demands will whittle that list down quickly.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

Why did they give the Silverdome a pass in 1994?

 

[Mightygoose]

It would have to be viewed as a failure of management if the Jays/Rogers can't get natural grass in by 2026. It is an ongoing embarrassment for the club and they have the last stadium with an indefinite turf situation (Tampa is going to grass one way or another).

Regardless if the Jays get real grass anytime soon or not, what incentive would Rogers have with World Cup games there as they own the place as well as the team?

My understanding is FIFA wants stadiums available a month before the first game to work out any kinks, practices etc....

Even if Toronto only hold group stage games, there's roughly 2 weeks there on top of another 4. Would they really want the Jays on the road for a month and a half? Considering TSN/Bell already has the broadcast rights, I can't see any reason why Rogers would want to do this. Doubt the gate will be worth the hastle.

 

[KevFu]

In the NHL everyone expects premium ice quality that will allow the stars to shine playing hockey in optimal conditions. And yet there are arenas that do not even have proper ice-making equipment resulting in poor ice quality that hurts the product as a whole. In soccer if the pitch is not good the results are the same. Creating and maintaining a world class natural grass pitch takes time and skill, instead I feel like the plan is just to install some sod rolls after the NFL season is over and hope that all goes well. Maybe the NFL teams would agree to adopt a hybrid solution like the Desso GrassMaster that is already used in Green Bay and Philadelphia, that way the condition should be clear already much before the tournament.

OH, okay. You're talking SURFACE, not facility SIZE. I got ya now.

 

[mouser]

Why did they give the Silverdome a pass in 1994?

They brought temporary grass in.

 

[KevFu]

Why did they give the Silverdome a pass in 1994?

They didn't. They laid down grass over the astroturf. It cost $2 million in 1994 to do that. It's actually a lot cheaper and easier now.

Here's a NY Times article on this topic from during the Canada WWC:
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/22/sports/soccer/world-cup-has-precedent-of-installing-grass.html

Expanding to so many teams will make the World Cup qualifying almost pointless because every half way decent team will make it. Compare to the qualifying going on right now for 2018. Its going to go down to the wire and several sports are up for grabs. A few big teams could miss out.

I completely disagree about qualifying being pointless and every halfway decent team easily making a 48-team field.

That is built on a completely flawed premise. There is ZERO way for the strengths of teams in the world to be objectively measured.

Everyone KNOWS that FIFA rankings are flawed. The two biggest problems with their system is the ridiculous "Regional strength multiplier" and the simple problem of small sample sizes.


Let's say that #1 Brazil goes 0-3 in group play of the World Cup. How many points does each team get for beating the #1 team in the world? Under FIFA's rankings, it actually depends on who you are!

UEFA or CONMEBOL teams would get 2388 points
CONCACAF teams would get 2245 points
AFC, CAF, OFC teams would get 2208 points.

That's messed up.


The only time teams play meaningful games are:
- World Cup Qualifying (against your own confederation)
- Confederation championships (against your own confederation)
- World Cup (3 group games against other confederations, 2 if you're Europe)

Every other match against another confederation is a meaningless friendly -- except for the rare occasion of CONCACAF and CONMEBOL inviting outsiders to the Gold Cup or Copa America. So we have no real good metric for inter-continental comparison.


But look at it this way. There's 8 World Cup groups and they draw from pots for seeding. Each Group has:
1 SEED: Top 8 team in the World (or the host).
2 SEED: UEFA/CONMEBOL team.
3 SEED: CONCACAF, CAF, AFC, OFC team
4 SEED: CONCACAF, CAF, AFC, OFC team

The top 16 teams are almost always UEFA/CONMEBOL teams. These Top 16 teams are SUPPOSED to beat the "bad teams" from CONCACAF, CAF, AFC, OFC. Right?

Since 1994,
AFC teams in the World Cup have 10 wins and 8 draws against UEFA/CONMEBOL when they're supposed to be losing each game. 38 points in 50 games.
CAF teams in the World Cup have 13 wins and 17 draws against UEFA/CONMEBOL when they're supposed to be losing each game. 43 points in 56 games.
OFC teams "suck" and are "supposed to lose" every game at the World Cup. In six games against UEFA/CONMEBOL, they have zero wins (expected), two losses and FOUR DRAWS.

CONCACAF teams in the World Cup have 12 wins and 21 draws against UEFA/CONMEBOL. Costa Rica has NEVER been the better ranked team by FIFA rankings. They're 2 wins, 4 draws, 4 losses.

 

[Bjorn Le]

Canada's choices are pretty obvious. We know they're not getting any of the games that require 80,000, so we only have to look at stadiums that can fit around 40,000.

Vancouver, with BC place (~55,000)
Edmonton, with Commonwealth Stadium (up to 60,000+)
Toronto, with BMO (expandable to 40,000+, there is zero chance they use Rogers Centre especially given that it'll likely be baseball only by that point)
Montreal, with Saputo (if they can get an exemption and expand it to ~30,000 or so), or Olympic Stadium if FIFA won't go for that.

The first three are guarantees in my mind. If Saputo cannot be chosen, and Olympic stadium is not fit, there's:

Winnipeg, with Investors Group (apparently it's expandable to close to 40,000)
Ottawa, with TD Place/Lansdowne (24,000, probably expandable but likely too small)
Hamilton, with Tim Hortons (24,000 too but apparently expandable to close to 40,000 as well)
Regina, with Mosaic Stadium (30,000, probably expandable close to 40,000).

I'd still bet on the first four, especially given the importance of having a game in Quebec, but there is other options if Canada can get exemptions to some of the rules/find solutions in time. If they're strict, Canada can basically only have games in Vancouver, Edmonton, and Toronto. There is no way that Montreal will be able to fit in if the rules are fully enforced. Of course it's much easier for them to fulfill solutions than it is Winnipeg or Regina, but it puts Canada in a bit of a difficult spot.

 

[Hoek]

I assume you're joking here.

North America is huge favorites to host in 2026. Europe and Asia can't bid as they have the 2018 and 2022 events. So that leaves North America, South America and Africa. The only competing bid at this time I'm aware of is from Morocco. There were a few South American nations that expressed interest, but I don't believe any of them ended up making an official bid, and seem to be looking towards 2030 now..

The rumor for many years now is 2030 is going to be Uruguay for the 100 year anniversary of the World Cup, with Argentina likely co-hosting as Uruguay obviously doesn't have the stadiums on its own.

 

[Jerkini]

Not sure what 'real field' means considering BMO has one of the best pitches on the continent.

Considering Canada is only hosting group stage + R32 matches, a 40K stadium is adequate.

I thought they were switching to a turf/grass hybrid pitch to accommodate the Argos, but looks like they stuck with grass anyway.. The hybrid stuff (GrassMaster) looks like it's used by a number of top soccer venues in Europe, so i was wrong on both accounts!

 

[CorbeauNoir]

They didn't. They laid down grass over the astroturf. It cost $2 million in 1994 to do that. It's actually a lot cheaper and easier now.

Here's a NY Times article on this topic from during the Canada WWC:
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/22/sports/soccer/world-cup-has-precedent-of-installing-grass.html

This article very conveniently says nothing about the actual quality of grass laid out on an artificial field that has no drainage or access to direct sunlight. The Whitecaps tried doing exactly this in their debut MLS season for the sake of an exhibition game against Man City and it fell apart into mush under the players' feet. And that was with the benefit of using a temporary open-air stadium, not the concrete bunker of BC Place with a tiny porthole opening of a roof.

 

[Rocko604]

The 12 cities I would most likely pick if I was FIFA are:

US:

New York
L.A.
Chicago
Miami
Phoenix
San Antonio

Canada:

Toronto
Montreal
Edmonton (They are the only city in Canada that actually has FIFA experience)
Vancouver

Mexico:

Mexico City
Monterey

Canada hosted the 2015 Women's World Cup with the R16, QF and Final at BC Place in Vancouver.

I couldn't imagine an open-air stadium with a capacity of 60,000 plus would be left out. The rest are domes....and let's be honest.....Montreal's Stade Olympique is a tad dated and is currently housing refugee claimants from the USA.

Vancouver's is retractable, similar to a lot of German stadiums. I'd say guaranteed to host a Canada game, but nothing beyond that, maybe an R16 match, considering CenturyLink is down the freeway.

I haven't see the full list, so I'm sure every NFL city/stadium was listed, but what about Ann Arbor, Columbus and Austin?

 

[AdmiralsFan24]

I haven't see the full list, so I'm sure every NFL city/stadium was listed, but what about Ann Arbor, Columbus and Austin?

The entire list of stadiums

USA

Every NFL stadium including the new Las Vegas stadium, except Buffalo
Legion Field - Birmingham (71,594)
Cotton Bowl - Dallas (92,100)
Rose Bowl - Pasadena (90,888)
Camping World Stadium - Orlando (65,000)
Rice-Eccles Stadium - Salt Lake City (45,807)
Alamodome - San Antonio (72,000)
Qualcomm Stadium - San Diego (71,500)

Canada

McMahon Stadium - Calgary (35,650)
Commonwealth Stadium - Edmonton (56,302)
Stade Olympique - Montreal (61,004)
Stade Saputo - Montreal (20,801)
TD Place Stadium - Ottawa (24,000)
Mosaic Stadium - Regina (30,048)
Rogers Centre - Toronto (53,506)
BMO Field - Toronto (30,000)
BC Place - Vancouver (54,500)

Mexico

Estadio Chivas - Guadalajara (45,364)
Estadio Azteca - Mexico City (87,000)
Estadio Rayados - Monterrey (52,237)

FIFA requires the opening and closing games to have a capacity of at least 80,000. The only stadiums that meet that requirement are Estadio Azteca, Cotton Bowl, AT&T Stadium, Lambeau Field, EverBank Field, LA Memorial Coliseum, City of Champions Stadium (new Los Angeles Stadium), Rose Bowl, MetLife Stadium and FedEx Field.

I think it's safe to say that Lambeau Field, EverBank Field, Cotton Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Bowl wouldn't even be considered either too small population wise or too old with a lack of amenities. Doubt Azteca would get to host the Final after most of the games are in the US.

I'm pretty sure Washington has been pushing for a FedEx Field replacement so it might not even be in use in 2026. New York or Los Angeles seem like good bets with AT&T Stadium also in the running.

 

[Wolf357]

I'm hoping against hope Winnipeg is considered for a Canadian venue... With Winnipeg doing a great job hosting the Women's World Cup I thought at least it would give a bit of a nudge to the chances.
Also a new stadium that can be expanded central time zone...
Also Edmonton should be given consideration..the city had supported international soccer more than just about any other city in North America...
But in reality it will be The Holly Trinity of Canadian cities...Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver...

 

[Albatros]

But in reality it will be The Holly Trinity of Canadian cities...Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver...

This. Ironically of all the places Regina has at the moment the best stadium, but that will change by 2026.

 

[berklon]

This. Ironically of all the places Regina has at the moment the best stadium, but that will change by 2026.

But it's about more than just the stadium.

It's also important that the city has a big soccer fanbase, and Toronto/Southern Ontario easily wins that aspect - especially for Men's World Cup due to it being the most multi-cultural city/area in Canada. Montreal and Vancouver are very respectable as well with their fanbase.

Then there's infrastructure of hotels, airports, etc.... and larger cities always lead in this aspect.

 

[Albatros]

The factors 1, 2, and 3 are money. Others may come after. That's why we will see World Cup football in sexy places like Kaliningrad, Saransk, Madinat ash Shamal, and Umm Salal already before 2026.

 

[madhi19]

It would have to be viewed as a failure of management if the Jays/Rogers can't get natural grass in by 2026. It is an ongoing embarrassment for the club and they have the last stadium with an indefinite turf situation (Tampa is going to grass one way or another).

I think the grass thing got on the ice a while ago. Mainly because Rogers would rather build a new stadium.

 

[TOGuy14]

But it's about more than just the stadium.

It's also important that the city has a big soccer fanbase, and Toronto/Southern Ontario easily wins that aspect - especially for Men's World Cup due to it being the most multi-cultural city/area in Canada. Montreal and Vancouver are very respectable as well with their fanbase.

Then there's infrastructure of hotels, airports, etc.... and larger cities always lead in this aspect.

I am guessing the teams and groups that get designated to play in the Canadian cities would be very specific if it happened.

I am guessing that Asian teams, especially China, would be a huge draw in Toronto / Vancouver. South Asian teams like India / Pakistan would draw well in Toronto too.

 

[sexydonut]

^Vancouver also has a large minority of ethnic South Asians. But unlike Toronto, the vast majority of Vancouver South Asians are Punjabi.

Kind of a moot point though, as cricket, not soccer rules South Asia.

 

[Bjorn Le]

I think the grass thing got on the ice a while ago. Mainly because Rogers would rather build a new stadium.

Rogers would only want a new stadium if someone was footing the bill for it. They just invested in pretty substantial renovations to SkyDome a few years ago and they're not getting a better location than where they are now right in downtown, beside the Spadina offramp, and a five minute walk from the train station.

 

[Hackett]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/seven-canadian-cities-considered-inclusion-2026-fifa-world-cup-bid/

The Canadian entries for consideration:
Calgary (McMahon Stadium), Edmonton (Commonwealth Stadium), Montreal (Stade Olympique and Stade Saputo), Ottawa (TD Place Stadium), Regina (Mosaic Stadium), Toronto (Rogers Centre and BMO Field) and Vancouver (BC Place).



A total of 49 venues in 44 cities.

Only Bmo field and saputo have natural grass, but they don't seem to look like World Cup caliber venues.

Even the larger ones like Olympic stadium, and Rogers centre are old. Has there been any large renovations recently?

BC Place recently underwent a renovation and might be the best Canadian facility, but the logistics might be a concern due to its location. Of course, it needs natural grass installed.