Posted April 12, 20178 yr UNITED STATES, CANADA AND MEXICO DECLARE INTENTION TO SUBMIT UNIFIED BID TO HOST 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2017/04/10/17/52/20170410-news-us-soccer-canada-mexico-submit-unified-bid-host-2026-fifa-world-cup World Cup 2026 would the first tournament with an expanded 48-team field (instead of the current 32-team field). According to reports, the World Cup 2026 proposal would have 60 games played in the U.S., 10 in Mexico and 10 in Canada:
April 12, 20178 yr This was just posted in another thread: UNITED STATES, CANADA AND MEXICO DECLARE INTENTION TO SUBMIT UNIFIED BID TO HOST 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2017/04/10/17/52/20170410-news-us-soccer-canada-mexico-submit-unified-bid-host-2026-fifa-world-cup World Cup 2026 would the first tournament with an expanded 48-team field (instead of the current 32-team field). According to reports, the World Cup 2026 proposal would have 60 games played in the U.S., 10 in Mexico and 10 in Canada: How we do ensure that some of the 60 games are held in Cleveland? US Soccer--or whoever decides these things--screwed us last time on their US bid to FIFA.
April 12, 20178 yr This was just posted in another thread: UNITED STATES, CANADA AND MEXICO DECLARE INTENTION TO SUBMIT UNIFIED BID TO HOST 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2017/04/10/17/52/20170410-news-us-soccer-canada-mexico-submit-unified-bid-host-2026-fifa-world-cup World Cup 2026 would the first tournament with an expanded 48-team field (instead of the current 32-team field). According to reports, the World Cup 2026 proposal would have 60 games played in the U.S., 10 in Mexico and 10 in Canada: How we do ensure that some of the 60 games are held in Cleveland? US Soccer--or whoever decides these things--screwed us last time on their US bid to FIFA. Do you know if Cleveland got screwed by FIFA last time around? I think the current administration is more interested in getting Cleveland on the Global Dirt Bike tour. ;)
April 12, 20178 yr ^Yes, we did. It wasn't FIFA that screwed us--it was the US body. The US committee puts together the proposal to FIFA and in that proposal was the list of cities that would host the matches. CLE was not one of the cities. I'll see if I can dig up that bid. I have it somewhere.
April 12, 20178 yr For starts, we can put on a great show in July for the Gold Cup and show we can welcome international fans and it's a great experience for all
April 12, 20178 yr Here are the cities chosen over CLE. From the 2018/2022 bid by the US Committee to FIFA: "The 18 cities that have been selected for inclusion in the official USA Bid Committee bid book that will be presented to FIFA are, in alphabetical order: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C.... To meet the maximum number of 18 cities that can be included in the official bid book to FIFA, the USA Bid Committee had to eliminate nine candidate host cities that had remained under consideration into the final round. In alphabetical order, those cities are Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Jacksonville, Oakland, Orlando, St. Louis and San Francisco. Among the nine eliminated cities, four were host cities when the United States previously hosted the FIFA World Cup™ in 1994: Chicago, Detroit, Orlando and San Francisco." http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2014/03/17/12/38/usa-bid-committee-announces-cities-to-be-included-in-us-bid-to-host-fifa-world-cup
April 12, 20178 yr [Moderators: I mislabeled the title to this thread by accident---could you please change to Cleveland: 2026 World Cup (instead of 2022) ? Thanks.]
April 12, 20178 yr I'll assume Cleveland's financial "donation" to the US body was too low for the previous bid. At FIFA and it's regional organizations it's all about pay-to-play. ;)
October 4, 20177 yr Cincinnati makes short list of World Cup host cities Cincinnati has made the short list of potential World Cup host cities for the 2026 event. Paul Brown Stadium is among a group of 32 sites selected by a joint North American bid committee to be presented to international soccer governing body FIFA early next year. The full list includes 25 U.S. cities, four in Canada and three in Mexico. The joint committee is vying to host the FIFA 2026 World Cup. Cincinnati was among 44 cities that included 49 stadiums asked by the United Bid Committee of the United States, Mexico and Canada in August to provide information regarding their ability to host the huge global event. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/10/04/cincinnati-makes-short-list-of-world-cup-host.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
October 5, 20177 yr Good. Now I wonder if the cities are lump together by region and the committee tries to have games in each region. So Cincy would be the in the midwest competing with Chicago, Detroit, and KC.
October 5, 20177 yr The recent world cups usually had 12 host cities with 32 teams and 64 total games. Considering the 2026 world cup is jumping up to 48 teams and 80 games I don't see why they won't have at least 16-18 host cities if not more. I still don't think Cincy will make the final cut but they should at least be able to hot some a team(s) training grounds especially if the FC stadium gets built.
October 5, 20177 yr If anyone but Trump would be in office in 2018 I'd say the North American bid would be a lock. But since he will be there don't be surprised if Morocco gets the bid. Since most of the players that matter are playing in Europe, I'd think they'd push FIFA for Morocco too as long as the facilities are OK. Yeah, it's hot but travel time is short and no jet lag.
October 5, 20177 yr Travel time and jet lag should not be of concern for an event like the World Cup. If they were, how did South Africa get it?
October 5, 20177 yr Travel time and jet lag should not be of concern for an event like the World Cup. If they were, how did South Africa get it? South Africa is longer travel time but there is no real jet lag from Western Europe to South Africa. Flying due south for the most part. Seasonal disorders? :) I'm not saying players have any control of the process but it would be better for the Euro Leagues if it were played in Morocco. I don't think Morocco has a real chance but with Trump, never say never. They would have to build more indoor facilities due to the summer heat (although not nearly as bad as Qatar). It would be a big FU vote to the US for sure. The other possibility would be for FIFA to demand that the higher profile games be played in Mexico and Canada despite the fact that most of the venues will be in the US.
October 5, 20177 yr For a world cup the teams usually fly to/close to the country that's hosting the event and set up camp weeks or even up to a month before the games start. Jet lag doesn't have any affect
October 5, 20177 yr Travel time and jet lag should not be of concern for an event like the World Cup. If they were, how did South Africa get it? South Africa is longer travel time but there is no real jet lag from Western Europe to South Africa. Flying due south for the most part. Seasonal disorders? :) I'm not saying players have any control of the process but it would be better for the Euro Leagues if it were played in Morocco. I don't think Morocco has a real chance but with Trump, never say never. They would have to build more indoor facilities due to the summer heat (although not nearly as bad as Qatar). It would be a big FU vote to the US for sure. The other possibility would be for FIFA to demand that the higher profile games be played in Mexico and Canada despite the fact that most of the venues will be in the US. From what I know of FIFA, they don't exactly have a strong moral compass.
June 13, 20187 yr Author World Cup 2026: United States, Canada and Mexico Win FIFA Vote: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/13/sports/world-cup/fifa-2026-vote-north-america-morocco.html World Cup 2026: Canada, US & Mexico joint bid wins right to host tournament: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44464913
June 13, 20187 yr Cincinnati is on the short list. 16 cities will host, and there are currently 23 potential host cities. I expect most of the cut cities to be on the East Coast of the US.
June 13, 20187 yr World Cup coming to U.S.; Cincinnati could host games The World Cup is returning to North America, moving Cincinnati a lot closer to hosting one of the world’s biggest soccer matches. FIFA Congress, an annual meeting of the members of soccer’s global governing body, has awarded the 2026 World Cup to a united bid consisting of the United States, Canada and Mexico. The organization made the announcement on Wednesday morning in Moscow, setting off celebrations in the U.S. and across North America. The united bid beat out Morocco, the only other finalist, by a vote of 134-65. The U.S. previously hosted the World Cup in 1994. Mexico hosted it in 1970 and 1986. Canada has never hosted the event, which is held every four years. Cincinnati is one of 23 cities that the United Bid Committee has accepted as potential host cities for World Cup matches. That list is expected to be trimmed to the final 16 cities by June 2020. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/06/13/world-cup-coming-to-u-s-cincinnati-could-host.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 13, 20187 yr On March 14, 2018 Vancouver, Minneapolis and Chicago all announced that they were dropping out as potential host cities. All three cities cited concerns over the financial transparency of being a host city and cited FIFA's unwillingness to negotiate financial details as reasons for their decisions; the bid committee announced the next day they had reduced the number of cities in the bid to 23. Translation -- Host cities are on the wrong side of the money. Although for mid-tier cities it is a chance to shine on a global scale for a week or two. Morocco had no real bid and yet got 65 votes. FIFA is still a disaster.
June 13, 20187 yr ^Yeah, looking at the list of cities selected (e.g., Cincinnati, but not Cleveland) I thought that something shady was up, especially knowing the corruption of FIFA.....not sure how clean the US committee is either given the published list of cities.
June 13, 20187 yr tbh, and this pains me to say, Cleveland doesnt deserve it. We have had multiple opportunities to show we can get behind international soccer and have not really taken advantage of that. The USA-Belgium game a few years back was not a great atmosphere and not really well attended. The Gold Cup last summer was not even a third full stadium....and just last night, 12K for team USA women vs China. Not saying that has to be a sellout, but those are April Indians game numbers. It is what it is, not saying there is anything wrong with the numbers, but we cant be expected to pull the world Cup. Nashville, for example, in their gold cup game last summer was almost sold out at 50K and it was pretty raucous
June 13, 20187 yr Cincy did 35k for their USWNT game at Nippert last summer and probably would have done more if they had the space.
June 13, 20187 yr tbh, and this pains me to say, Cleveland doesnt deserve it. We have had multiple opportunities to show we can get behind international soccer and have not really taken advantage of that. The USA-Belgium game a few years back was not a great atmosphere and not really well attended. The Gold Cup last summer was not even a third full stadium....and just last night, 12K for team USA women vs China. Not saying that has to be a sellout, but those are April Indians game numbers. It is what it is, not saying there is anything wrong with the numbers, but we cant be expected to pull the world Cup. Nashville, for example, in their gold cup game last summer was almost sold out at 50K and it was pretty raucous Gold Cup is coming back to Cleveland in 2019...
June 13, 20187 yr I wonder if the legalization of sports gambling nationwide helped the decision. Soccer gambling is a gigantic business that the U.S. was locked out of. "183... Where It's All in Play"
June 13, 20187 yr Cincinnati sold out (34k) a friendly between FC Cincinnati and Crystal Palace in 2016 and sold 30k+ for a Women's National Team friendly in 2017. I think that is a big reason why we are being considered. The thing we don't have going for us is that we aren't a "destination" city like Nashville is.
June 13, 20187 yr tbh, and this pains me to say, Cleveland doesnt deserve it. We have had multiple opportunities to show we can get behind international soccer and have not really taken advantage of that. The USA-Belgium game a few years back was not a great atmosphere and not really well attended. The Gold Cup last summer was not even a third full stadium....and just last night, 12K for team USA women vs China. Not saying that has to be a sellout, but those are April Indians game numbers. It is what it is, not saying there is anything wrong with the numbers, but we cant be expected to pull the world Cup. Nashville, for example, in their gold cup game last summer was almost sold out at 50K and it was pretty raucous Those are dismal numbers. But I would attribute it to poor marketing. For example, I had no idea of a USA women vs China game last night and I generally stay on top of all events going on in town. I see no media coverage before the games alerting the public and no real effort by others. With 3MM people in Cleveland, it should not be hard to fill a 60k seat stadium. Its that very few people know about these opportunities. That said, CLE would definitely sell out a World Cup game or two....
June 13, 20187 yr FIFA and it's subsidiaries are all about the money. That's why Chicago, Minneapolis and Vancouver walked. It's why the 2026 bidding process was lukewarm. It's hard to beat the "United" bid which is expected to make FIFA $11 billion. If Cleveland offers up enough incentives they would have been considered. It's naive to think it's about atmosphere. Just being honest.
June 13, 20187 yr It's naive to think that FIFA doesn't look at how many tickets are sold to international sporting events in cities. I didn't say they picked Cincinnati as a potential city because we are loud at games. I said we sold a ton of tickets to unimportant matches. I understand it's not about atmosphere, but Cincinnati didn't get the spot on the short list because they offered more incentives than Cleveland did. And yeah, I know why those three backed out. It was because they didn't get any concessions from FIFA on the requirements to host and weren't comfortable agreeing to the terms.
June 13, 20187 yr It's naive to think that FIFA doesn't look at how many tickets are sold to international sporting events in cities. I didn't say they picked Cincinnati as a potential city because we are loud at games. I said we sold a ton of tickets to unimportant matches. I understand it's not about atmosphere, but Cincinnati didn't get the spot on the short list because they offered more incentives than Cleveland did. And yeah, I know why those three backed out. It was because they didn't get any concessions from FIFA on the requirements to host and weren't comfortable agreeing to the terms. You and I have no idea what Cincinnati offered. FIFA and US Soccer makes sure of that. Yet, it's very telling three cities walked out of the 2026 World Cup. Chicago(!) walked. If I had to lay odds, I would say Cincy offered more than most cities in the region. The $11 billion is coming from somewhere.
June 13, 20187 yr Author Our "owner" should stay off twitter, even to congratulate today's announcement:
June 13, 20187 yr tbh, and this pains me to say, Cleveland doesnt deserve it. We have had multiple opportunities to show we can get behind international soccer and have not really taken advantage of that. The USA-Belgium game a few years back was not a great atmosphere and not really well attended. The Gold Cup last summer was not even a third full stadium....and just last night, 12K for team USA women vs China. Not saying that has to be a sellout, but those are April Indians game numbers. It is what it is, not saying there is anything wrong with the numbers, but we cant be expected to pull the world Cup. Nashville, for example, in their gold cup game last summer was almost sold out at 50K and it was pretty raucous Gold Cup is coming back to Cleveland in 2019... Yes, i was surprised by that. Either David Gilbert and that Sports Commission Group has a hell of a pitch or something really went well last year while here. I was at the game last summer and it was fun, but it was also discouraging that we cant fill that place better. There is no guarantee team USA will even play in Cleveland...so if its Martinique vs Haiti....gulp on the attendance. The costs to host may exceed the revenues
June 13, 20187 yr tbh, and this pains me to say, Cleveland doesnt deserve it. We have had multiple opportunities to show we can get behind international soccer and have not really taken advantage of that. The USA-Belgium game a few years back was not a great atmosphere and not really well attended. The Gold Cup last summer was not even a third full stadium....and just last night, 12K for team USA women vs China. Not saying that has to be a sellout, but those are April Indians game numbers. It is what it is, not saying there is anything wrong with the numbers, but we cant be expected to pull the world Cup. Nashville, for example, in their gold cup game last summer was almost sold out at 50K and it was pretty raucous Those are dismal numbers. But I would attribute it to poor marketing. For example, I had no idea of a USA women vs China game last night and I generally stay on top of all events going on in town. I see no media coverage before the games alerting the public and no real effort by others. With 3MM people in Cleveland, it should not be hard to fill a 60k seat stadium. Its that very few people know about these opportunities. That said, CLE would definitely sell out a World Cup game or two.... This is true. Not sure who is in charge of the marketing. Greater Cleveland sports commission or First Energy Stadium?
June 14, 20187 yr I'm not sure why we are making this into a Cleveland vs Cincinnati thing. Why Cleveland wasn't on the short list, I have no idea...Cincinnati is definitely on the rise, and FCC has definitely created a unique soccer culture that has captured the attention of many. We should all be proud that Cincy may get a chance to host a world cup game..yet it's conspiracy theory central over here, almost as if Cincy is some 3rd world city that deserves nothing good or positive...Where is the love guys?
June 14, 20187 yr ^i don’t think this is a cleveland vs cincy thing. I’m from cleveland and am a huge soccer fan and I’m openly admitting cincy more deserved of the opportunity. Read my first post on the topic, I said cleveland has not earned its right as a soccer city to take it from a different city that fully supports soccer. Now if other criteria is involved, such as venue, walkability, financial incentives...that’s the big question. But cleveland has not gotten behind international soccer at a World Cup worthy level and that’s a fact
June 14, 20187 yr ^ I doubt Cincy gets a game. Given the roster of cities and that 7 US cities need to be cut, and they have previously stated the Rose Bowl and Georgia Dome are the preferred Semi site and Meadowlands the final site, it leaves 14 cities vying for 7 spots. Given it is the 250 anniversary for Philly they are likely in; Seattle is in to have something in Pacific NW, especially given that Vancouver is out; Miami will be in to cover the Southeast; and Dallas or Houston will be a spot too. That leaves 3 spots left between Cincinnati, Orlando, Nashville, Denver, Baltimore, Washington, Boston, San Francisco and Kansas City. It is likely the Baltimore/Washington area gets one spot, Boston gets one and San Fran gets the last spot. Cincy's best hope is that they offer the best location in the Midwest from access points, and are not competing with Chicago on this one.
June 14, 20186 yr ^I agree. I think our odds are slim, but they are there. I'm not confident that Boston gets it since it would be in Foxborough, and not Boston proper. I think Miami certainly gets it, and that likely means Orlando doesn't get in. The best thing Cincinnati has for it is that we are the closest city to the Chicago-Mineapolis-Detroit Great Lakes area. Having a location that's driving distance to Chicago is probably preferred. The city could also put together a pretty good fan destination at The Banks where they close down blocks to vehicular traffic for fans.
June 14, 20186 yr I was thinking about it and assuming they like to have each region represented Cincinnati may have a better than expected chance. If you think Pacific NW (Seattle/Portland Vancouver areas) Seattle is the venue there; Texas (Hou/Dallas) one of them will get it; Southeast (Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, Nashville) I would get rid of Nashville because the others bring more to the table (bigger and more international airports) and probably go to Miami over Orlando because of soccer diversity is better in South Florida. Atlanta has already been pegged as a semi final site. Going up the East coast, you have New York/Boston/Philly/DC/Baltimore areas. New York will be the finals so they are in. I think Philly gets it because of its 250th anniversary as a city, leaving DC or Boston as a tossup (Baltimore is out). DC makes more sense but Boston's leadership in MLS and soccer may get it there over DC because DC MLS ownership is in disarray now. SO then we go to California and have LA and San Fran. LA will be in as the site for the Semi's. This leaves 3 spots open for San Fran, Denver, Cincy, DC/Boston. When you look at it like this, I think our chances are better. The Midwest and Mountain West areas are least represented but Mountain West does at least have Edmonton. 2/3 of the population can get to Cincinnati in 2 hours vs many of the other cities too.
June 14, 20186 yr On paper, Nashville should get it...however Nashvilles growth has moved faster than its supply of basic amenities. Hotel rooms are not what they need to be, hour waits at restaurants anywhere within a half mile of broadway. Their hotel room situation actually may be Nashvilles demise
June 14, 20186 yr ^This is 8 years from now, so there is time for any city to make changes needed to host an event like this.
June 14, 20186 yr This is not a Cleveland vs Cincy thing for me. It’s a corrupt FIFA/US Soccer thing. The fact that cities like Chicago and Vancouver walked away speaks volumes about the bidding process. FIFA looks at money first, everything else second. Let’s not kid ourselves.
June 14, 20186 yr It speaks to the giganticness of college football that we have many 100,000-seat stadiums that aren't going to be used. According to Wikipedia, the biggest proposed venue for the 2026 World Cup, The Rose Bowl, has 90,800 seats. It is merely the 12th largest college football stadium. None of the 11 bigger stadiums are going to be used. We keep hearing from soccer people that "football is a dying sport", but they aren't willing to risk empty seats at the biggest tournament in the world when regular-season college football games usually sell out 100,000-seat stadiums. The big money for the World Cup is no doubt from TV rights, not butts in the seats, but still my point stands.
June 14, 20186 yr It speaks to the giganticness of college football that we have many 100,000-seat stadiums that aren't going to be used. According to Wikipedia, the biggest proposed venue for the 2026 World Cup, The Rose Bowl, has 90,800 seats. It is merely the 12th largest college football stadium. None of the 11 bigger stadiums are going to be used. We keep hearing from soccer people that "football is a dying sport", but they aren't willing to risk empty seats at the biggest tournament in the world when regular-season college football games usually sell out 100,000-seat stadiums. The big money for the World Cup is no doubt from TV rights, not butts in the seats, but still my point stands. Well the ticket prices are vastly different. For an OSU football match (against a key opponent) would cost you roughly 150$ dollars...World Cup tickets start at around 450-500$ for the early matches, and climb to over a 1,000$ for the later round matches.
June 14, 20186 yr The fact that the Bengals are selling season tickets for $200 speaks volumes. The NFL is really struggling. College football is a different animal entirely. It speaks to the giganticness of college football that we have many 100,000-seat stadiums that aren't going to be used. According to Wikipedia, the biggest proposed venue for the 2026 World Cup, The Rose Bowl, has 90,800 seats. It is merely the 12th largest college football stadium. None of the 11 bigger stadiums are going to be used. We keep hearing from soccer people that "football is a dying sport", but they aren't willing to risk empty seats at the biggest tournament in the world when regular-season college football games usually sell out 100,000-seat stadiums. The big money for the World Cup is no doubt from TV rights, not butts in the seats, but still my point stands. The World Cup this year in Russia will only have two stadiums that have over 48k capacity. Majority are around 40-45k. The US shouldn't expect to sell out every game with a 100k capacity stadium for each match. Like troeros said, World Cup tickets are expensive.
June 14, 20186 yr Maybe some of those larger facilities are not FIFA compliant and do nto want to bother becoming so. Michigan, Ohio State for example don't have grass, and maybe don't meet field dimensions. UT, A&M, Bama, Penn State, LSU maybe don't want to bother and are not in big enough metro areas. I would think Happy Valley or Tuscolusa or College Station is not a place to draw tourists from other countries.
June 14, 20186 yr OSU did grass for a big soccer event a few years back. It can't be permanent since the stadium walls block out the sun for too many hours per day.
June 14, 20186 yr I heard seats with backs was a requirement for FIFA, so that would rule out most of the big college stadiums. OSU and Michigan both have bleachers (which is how they have such high capacities anyways) so they would not have even been considered. The Rose Bowl and Colliseum both have real seats.
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