United Bid Committee commences outreach for potential Host Cities in 2026 FIFA World Cup bid

The United Bid Committee of the United States, Mexico and Canada officially started its outreach for cities to declare their interest to serve as Official Host Cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ by sending Requests for Information (RFIs) to 44 cities across the three nations. The RFI asks each city to declare its interest to take part in the bid process by September 5, 2017.

 

A total of 49 stadiums located in or around those 44 candidate cities will be considered for inclusion in the official bid that will be sent to FIFA by March 16, 2018.

 

After cities declare their interest, the United Bid Committee will review the submissions and intends to issue a shortlist of cities by late September. The Bid Committee will then provide more detailed bid documentation to the cities and conduct meetings to discuss any questions as candidate cities prepare their final bid, due early January 2018.

 

The Bid Committee plans to include 20-25 venues in its final bid to FIFA. If selected to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup™, subject to FIFA’s determination, it is anticipated that at least 12 locations could ultimately serve as Official Host Cities. If a city is not selected to host matches, there may be other opportunities to be involved in the 2026 FIFA World Cup™. Those cities, as well as other cities not on the initial list, could be selected as the location for the International Broadcast Centre, host Team Base Camps or host major events such as the Preliminary or Final Draw.

 

The 2026 FIFA World Cup™ will be the first tournament with the expanded 48-team format and will require world-class facilities and infrastructure. The United States, Mexico and Canada are uniquely suited to accommodate FIFA’s high-level standards for hosting a FIFA World Cup™.

 

Atlanta has been named as a potential host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ bid, with its already iconic Mercedes-Benz Stadium, opening this September

 

The 2026 FIFA World Cup™ will be the first tournament with the expanded 48-team format and will require world-class facilities and infrastructure. The United States, Mexico and Canada are uniquely suited to accommodate FIFA’s high-level standards for hosting a FIFA World Cup™.

 

United Bid Committee Executive Director, John Kristick, said:

The Host Cities included in our bid will be critical to its success — not only because of their facilities and ability to stage major events, but because they are committed to further developing the sport of soccer by harnessing the impact of hosting a FIFA World Cup — and looking beyond the game itself to make a positive contribution to our communities and the world. We have had a great response so far and we’re looking forward to working closely with each city and determining the best venues for our official bid that we’ll submit next year.

 

The 49 stadiums represent a wide spectrum of facilities, including stadiums for soccer and football as well as domed and retractable roof stadiums. All stadiums are required to have at least 40,000 seats for group stage matches, and a capacity of at least 80,000 to be considered for the Opening Match and the Final.

 

Municipal leaders in each city have been asked to provide information about each city’s transportation infrastructure, past experience hosting major sporting and cultural events, available accommodations, environmental protection initiatives, potential venues and more.

In addition to a stadium capable of hosting international soccer, each city has to propose top international-level training sites and locations for team base camps, and hotels for teams, staff and VIP’s. The Bid Committee will also evaluate cities on their commitment to sustainable event management, aspirations to develop soccer, and the positive social impact they anticipate in the local community and beyond stemming from the event.

 

FIFA established a deadline of August 11 for Member Associations to express their interest to bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup™. Morocco declared its intention to bid on this date. Both bidders must now submit their proposals for consideration by FIFA, with a decision to be taken at the FIFA Congress next June.

 

The United Bid Committee kicked off its efforts earlier this month by announcing the Board of Directors and the executive leadership team that includes Executive Director John Kristick, Managing Director of Technical Operations Jim Brown, Canada Bid Director Peter Montopoli, who is Canada Soccer General Secretary, and Mexico Bid Director Yon De Luisa, who is a Televisa Vice President.

 

The United Bid Committee’s Board of Directors includes Sunil Gulati (Chairman), Steven Reed (Canada), Peter Montopoli (Canada), Decio De Maria (Mexico), Guillermo Cantu (Mexico), Carlos Cordeiro (USA), Donna Shalala (USA), Dan Flynn (USA), Don Garber (USA), Carlos Bocanegra (USA), Julie Foudy (USA), Ed Foster-Simeon (USA) and Victor Montagliani (CONCACAF). Legendary sports executive Robert Kraft has been appointed as Honorary Chairman of the Board.

 

The three nations have hosted a combined 13 FIFA World Cups (men’s, women and youth), more than any other trio of geographically-connected nations, and set attendance records for five of those events.

Source: MercedesBenzStadium.com and USSoccer.com

 

Image, courtesy: Mercedes-Benz Stadium

 

#SportsVenueBusiness – keeping you in the know!

 

Proposed stadiums and metropolitan markets for further consideration 
Metropolitan Market Stadium Capacity
United States (34 cities, 37 stadiums)
Atlanta, GA Mercedes-Benz Stadium 75,000
Baltimore, MD M&T Bank Stadium 71,008
Birmingham, AL Legion Field 71,594
Boston, MA (Foxborough, MA) Gillette Stadium 65,892
Charlotte, NC Bank of America Stadium 75,400
Chicago, IL Soldier Field 61,500
Cincinnati, OH Paul Brown Stadium 65,515
Cleveland, OH FirstEnergy Stadium 68,710
Dallas, TX Cotton Bowl 92,100
Dallas, TX (Arlington, TX) AT&T Stadium 105,000
Denver, CO Sports Authority Field at Mile High 76,125
Detroit, MI Ford Field 65,000
Green Bay, WI Lambeau Field 81,441
Houston, TX NRG Stadium 71,500
Indianapolis, IN Lucas Oil Stadium 65,700
Jacksonville, FL EverBank Field 64,000
Kansas City, MO Arrowhead Stadium 76,416
Las Vegas, NV Raiders Stadium 72,000
Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 78,500
Los Angeles, CA (Inglewood, CA) LA Stadium at Hollywood Park TBD
Los Angeles, CA (Pasadena, CA) Rose Bowl 87,527
Miami, FL Hard Rock Stadium 65,767
Minneapolis, MN U.S. Bank Stadium 63,000
Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium 69,143
New Orleans, LA Mercedes-Benz Superdome 72,000
New York/New Jersey (East Rutherford, NJ) MetLife Stadium 82,500
Orlando, FL Camping World Stadium 65,000
Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field 69,328
Phoenix, AZ (Glendale, AZ) University of Phoenix Stadium 73,000
Pittsburgh, PA Heinz Field 68,400
Salt Lake City, UT Rice-Eccles Stadium 45,807
San Antonio, TX Alamodome 72,000
San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium 71,500
San Francisco/San Jose, CA (Santa Clara, CA) Levi’s Stadium 75,000
Seattle, WA CenturyLink Field 69,000
Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium 73,309
Washington, DC (Landover, MD) FedEx Field 82,000
 

Canada (7 cities, 9 stadiums)

Calgary, Alberta McMahon Stadium 35,650
Edmonton, Alberta Commonwealth Stadium 56,335
Montréal, Québec Stade Olympique 61,004
Montréal, Québec Stade Saputo 20,801
Ottawa, Ontario TD Place Stadium 24,341
Regina, Saskatchewan Mosaic Stadium 30,048
Toronto, Ontario Rogers Centre 53,506
Toronto, Ontario BMO Field 28,026
Vancouver, British Columbia BC Place 55,165
 

Mexico (3 cities, 3 stadiums)

Guadalajara, Jalisco Estadio Chivas 45,364
Mexico City Estadio Azteca 87,000
Monterrey, Nuevo León Estadio Rayados 52,237
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