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FIFA does require seats with backs. They don't allow general admission seating for the World Cup. Also, most of the stadiums proposed don't have natural grass. Grass would have to be brought in for the matches in most stadiums in the US.

 

They also wouldn't allow any odd field dimensions. Soccer fields are wider than football fields, so some stadiums would require physical modifications to reach a configuration. That could rule out some college stadiums like OSU and Michigan.

 

MLS and USL aren't as picky about dimensions, but still have minimum and maximum dimensions that they sometimes waive.

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  • Gramarye
    Gramarye

    I mean, they did just hold the last World Cup in a country not 100% noted for tolerance and welcoming outsiders.

  • ryanlammi
    ryanlammi

    I just moved all of this to the 2026 World Cup topic since all of the Paul Brown Stadium discussion is contingent on Cincinnati being awarded as a host city.

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^Most foreign team fans, I assume, will actually be current U.S. residents or first-generation U.S. citizens.  The overwhelming majority of butts in the seats at all games will be U.S. citizens.  We aren't going to see 50,000 people travel to the United States from the wealthy countries like England and Germany.  It'll be more like 10,000. 

 

 

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.

 

The average NFL regular season game has 14 million viewers.  The least-watched Bengals game of 2017 had 8 million viewers.  Meanwhile, the top MLS TV audience of all time was about 1 million with the average audience around 250,000. 

 

Also, top cricket matches get many more viewers than the World Series (especially since cricket is huge in India).  For whatever reason, soccer proponents in the United States have picked a fight with football, specifically, even though the seasons barely overlap.  But soccer boosters don't make a big deal out of cricket, even though it is much more of a world sport than is baseball.   

 

If you look at Facebook or Twitter replies to anything the enquirer posts about FC Cincinnati, a bunch of people with Bengals related profile photos, people holding fish, or closeups of their dogs are commenting saying things like "that's not a real sport" or "who cares". Soccer has always been looked down upon by fans of other sports in the United States, and I think soccer fans have developed a distaste for the NFL because they are the main fanbases that continue this war.

 

Also, I agree that a vast majority of attendees at the World Cup in 2026 will be US citizens. But the World Cup is entirely different from MLS or the NFL. Over 25 Million in the United States watched the World Cup final in 2014. A game between Portugal and Germany. I know those aren't Super Bowl numbers, but it's impressive for a sport that Americans don't usually think about.

 

NFL rating are down 9.7% 2016-2017. TV ratings were down 9.2% from 2015-16. I'm not saying Football is dead, but the NFL is in a bad spot. It's a ripe time for soccer to gain popularity. It's a shame the United States isn't in the World Cup again.

If you look at Facebook or Twitter replies to anything the enquirer posts about FC Cincinnati, a bunch of people with Bengals related profile photos, people holding fish, or closeups of their dogs are commenting saying things like "that's not a real sport" or "who cares".

 

Real Men

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. 

 

 

 

What exactly is your point? That football is more popular than soccer in this country? That's obvious, it's also obvious to the NFL and NCAA that football is hurting. NFL ratings are down and college football attendance is on a downward spiral. There are tons of reasons why for this (length of game, lack of action, concussions). I personally love watching the Bengals and I love soccer, but I'm also realistic in where sports viewership and participation is going in this country.

 

The following cities of college football stadiums over 100,000: Ann Arbor, State College, Columbus, College Station, Knoxville, Baton Rouge, Tuscaloosa and Austin.  Almost all of those are immediately eliminated based on the city size. Columbus and Austin survive. The United Bid is rating cities beyond stadium size including but not limited to the size of airport (especially international flights), ability to host big events, infrastructure, hotel accommodations and public transit. United Bid also wants cities with a current soccer culture. Cities also need soccer training grounds and ability to have multiple nations practice on multiple top level soccer grounds. When you start thinking about this bigger picture is obvious why places like State College weren't even considered because it's not just about stadium size. It's about hosting a major soccer event over the course of several days or even weeks.

 

I'd be shocked if Cincinnati made the final cut to host a game but I think it's a safe bet that we're going to be hosting a team or two.

 

 

Honestly, I don't think the NFL needs to be worried, or the NBA, but MLB is in soccer's crosshairs.

1) they overlap seasons already and

2) There are more and more kids playing soccer and fewer playing baseball year over year.

 

When I was growing up, everyone had to play baseball. It was a requirement of growing up. If you didn't you lost some sort of man card and you missed part of your childhood and friendships and the like. Soccer was there and people played in the fall, but baseball was life.

 

Now, it almost seems like it is reversed with everyone playing soccer and baseball teams struggle to get enough to play.

Cleveland will get the deal like the amazon bid

^The thing about the gigantic baseball regular season is that it actually determines who has the best team in a division, almost all of the time.  Baseball's season and post-season probe the depth of teams like no other sport.  But even with a 7-game World Series with a variety of different pitchers, and almost every player on the roster getting some playing time, crazy stuff happens. 

 

I watched this live:

 

In soccer, basketball, and football, teams run the same starting lineup out there for every game and barring injuries they plug in the same subs.  Baseball is totally singular with the rotating cast of starting pitchers and relievers, plus benching the catcher every 5 days, platoon situations, etc. 

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

 

I attended the Gold Cup in Charlotte a few years back and it was a similar scene.  Great tailgating party with loads of street tacos and cervesa! 

  • 2 years later...

Yeah not to be a pessimist, but we are firmly at the bottom of that list imo

54 minutes ago, seaswan said:

Yeah not to be a pessimist, but we are firmly at the bottom of that list imo

 

From a geographical standpoint, one of either Cincinnati, Nashville, or Kansas City seems likely. Cincinnati's case is helped by the fact that there's no other city in the Upper Midwest. Another city in Ohio, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Indy, Milwaukee, etc. would all hurt Cincy's chances, but luckily none are in the running. There also look to be some obvious head to head matchups of cities (Dallas v. Houston, Miami v. Orland, Baltimore v. DC) that will eliminate several options. 

 

The streetcar might be a factor - but there's zero chance an extension could be built by 2026.

 

Another glaring problem is the Millennium Hotel replacement. COVID is going to likely make replacing it - even by 2026 - a challenge.

Edited by Ram23

48 minutes ago, Ram23 said:

 

From a geographical standpoint, one of either Cincinnati, Nashville, or Kansas City seems likely. Cincinnati's case is helped by the fact that there's no other city in the Upper Midwest. Another city in Ohio, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Indy, Milwaukee, etc. would all hurt Cincy's chances, but luckily none are in the running. There also look to be some obvious head to head matchups of cities (Dallas v. Houston, Miami v. Orland, Baltimore v. DC) that will eliminate several options. 

 

The streetcar might be a factor - but there's zero chance an extension could be built by 2026.

 

Another glaring problem is the Millennium Hotel replacement. COVID is going to likely make replacing it - even by 2026 - a challenge.

Kansas City is an interesting factor. I don't think they get it. Dallas will get it and Dallas and KC are too close to each other. The Hunt family may be influential, but they own FC Dallas (along with KC chiefs) and live in Texas. Think Dallas gets it. so it is a decision between Cincy and Nashville.  Nashville's biggest problem is that Atlanta is pretty much guaranteed to host and they are both part of the South. 

 

I think the hotel situation hurts Cincy, but by 2026 there will almost certainly be a new Convention hotel built. I am cautiously optimistic at our chances. 

The host cities will be decided by a mixture of soccer facilities, geography, local support, and city amenities.

 

We are primarily fighting against Nashville and Kansas City in my opinion. Since Chicago is not competing for host status, the entire Midwest will be represented by Cincinnati or Kansas City (or possibly Nashville).

 

Nashville is disadvantaged because of their proximity to Atlanta. It would be similar to us if Chicago was still in the running. Our odds would be extremely low of getting it if Chicago was still in the running.

 

Kansas City has some excellent training facilities, and I could see them being selected for a Team Base Facility where teams train when they aren't playing instead of a host city.

 

Other cities that have disadvantages:

  • Washington DC is already going to be overrun with tourists. They have the infrastructure, but it might be best to make it a Fan Fest area and keep teams away from the city.
  • DC, Baltimore, and Philly are so close together. I don't see all three getting selected. At least one, but definitely not all three. I would guess Baltimore and Philly get picked.
  • Orlando has the hotel rooms, but beyond that, it's overshadowed by Miami, and is already going to be packed with tourists going to Disney and Universal.
  • Boston's stadium (in Foxborough) is so far away from the city center, and the city has never really supported their local team. I could see them being passed on, but Robert Kraft is also pretty much in charge of the initiative, so maybe they get to host.
  • Houston has been called out as the likely Referee Base Camp. This makes sense, as it allows Dallas to host one of the semifinal games, and still spread out host cities more geographically. 

I don't know if Cincinnati will get picked, and I still think it's a long shot, but there are definitely some advantages to our bid

  • No other major events that would impact hotel availability
  • Proximity to Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and other Midwest/Rustbelt regions
  • Very centrally located stadium
  • Strong corporate sponsors

Our disadvantages are our public transit system and hotel capacity. Both of these should get better in the next six years, but that's a gamble FIFA would have to make. They do pick some smaller markets like Manaus is Brazil and Yekaterinburg in Russia. It's not always the flashy touristy cities that get picked.

On 6/16/2018 at 4:40 AM, jmecklenborg said:

^The thing about the gigantic baseball regular season is that it actually determines who has the best team in a division, almost all of the time.  Baseball's season and post-season probe the depth of teams like no other sport.  But even with a 7-game World Series with a variety of different pitchers, and almost every player on the roster getting some playing time, crazy stuff happens. 

 

I realize this is way off topic and two years old, but this is not true in the slightest. Baseball is super random and they would need to play more games than are mathematically possible to even approach the certainty of who the "best" team is. In fact, it is the most random of the major sports. The "best" team finishes the regular season with the most wins only about 60% of the time, and the playoffs are even more random. Individual baseball games are basically coin flips. Basketball is the major sport with the least randomness. 

 

https://www.wired.com/2012/11/luck-and-skill-untangled-qa-with-michael-mauboussin/

 

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/other-sports/2018/05/08/statistics-professional-sports-luck-skill-hockey-baseball-basketball-football/stories/201805070152

2 hours ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

Kansas City is an interesting factor. I don't think they get it. Dallas will get it and Dallas and KC are too close to each other. The Hunt family may be influential, but they own FC Dallas (along with KC chiefs) and live in Texas. Think Dallas gets it. so it is a decision between Cincy and Nashville.  Nashville's biggest problem is that Atlanta is pretty much guaranteed to host and they are both part of the South. 

 

I think the hotel situation hurts Cincy, but by 2026 there will almost certainly be a new Convention hotel built. I am cautiously optimistic at our chances. 


 

I agree about the hotel. Even with COVID I can definitely see a new hotel being ready for a 2026 World Cup. They wouldn’t even have to break ground until 2023 which gives them plenty of time. The fact is if Cincinnati was awarded a world cup game there isn’t a chance in hell the city doesn’t build a new convention hotel ASAP.

 

To me the more interesting subject is the host venue in the bid - Paul Brown Stadium, The Bengals lease is up that year so will the city be consumed/Exhausted with stadium drama again? Will they have reached a lease extension that includes a major renovation before or after the World Cup ? Or will the bengals be heading to Mexico City or something? Who knows lol.

Edited by 646empire

28 minutes ago, 646empire said:


 

I agree about the hotel. Even with COVID I can definitely see a new hotel being ready for a 2026 World Cup. They wouldn’t even have to break ground until 2023 which gives them plenty of time. The fact is if Cincinnati was awarded a world cup game there isn’t a chance in hell the city doesn’t build a new convention hotel ASAP.

 

To me the more interesting subject is the host venue in the bid - Paul Brown Stadium, The Bengals lease is up that year so will the city be consumed/Exhausted with stadium drama again? Will they have reached a lease extension that includes a major renovation before or after the World Cup ? Or will the bengals be heading to Mexico City or something? Who knows lol.


This is getting a little off topic, but I think the Coronavirus has probably cooled the idea of moving more teams of domestic leagues to foreign countries.

 

As for the lease, the Bengals have the sole ability to extend the lease by two years at a time up to five times (10 years), so I would be shocked if they don't extend the lease through 2028 at the latest. They still have the upper hand on the negotiations. The Bengals could likely use the World Cup host status as a bargaining chip to get more updates to the stadium from the County. The host cities are supposed to be finalized at some point in 2021, so this will be decided before any news about the Bengals is finalized.

It would be very cool to see PBS utilized for something other than Bengals games and the occasional concert/festival. Hopefully it would be used as a motivating factor to complete the rest of The Banks and the new convention center hotel, and it would be an excuse to "spruce up" downtown again like we did right before the All Star Game and the World Choir Games.

I’ve read over and over that if Cincinnati doesn’t get a game it will for sure at least host one of the teams. I’ve read that it could be a powerhouse like Germany for example. Is hosting a team a big deal at all? Would German (for example) fans stay in Cincinnati to watch the team practice and such? Or is this a nothing burger. Also would Cleveland and or Columbus possibly host teams too?

Usually they host a few teams at one site, especially with an expanded World Cup. If Cincinnati isn't a host city we're almost guarantee to be team HQ for a few countries. It will attract fans of those countries to want to stay here, not sure it would be a massive groundswell of tourists though. I believe only the cities on the list for possible host cities can be selected as team HQ cities. 

14 minutes ago, 646empire said:

I’ve read over and over that if Cincinnati doesn’t get a game it will for sure at least host one of the teams. I’ve read that it could be a powerhouse like Germany for example. Is hosting a team a big deal at all? Would German (for example) fans stay in Cincinnati to watch the team practice and such? Or is this a nothing burger. Also would Cleveland and or Columbus possibly host teams too?

 

I don't know for sure what that would entail. It probably depends on the team. If the team is a major powerhouse (Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, France, Brazil, etc) they may have a few days with open practice, or they may organize an evening to sign autographs or something. But I've never been to a World Cup before, so I don't know exactly what that entails. I imagine most practices would be behind closed doors, but maybe one or two would be opened up for public access. And I also think there could potentially be 2 or 3 teams headquartered in a city like Cincinnati depending on the teams and facilities available. We could likely see FC Cincinnati's Milford training facility host a team, University of Cincinnati host a team, and NKU host a team. Perhaps even the West End Stadium would be used as a Team Base Camp. I'm not sure what the MLS schedule is going to look like for 2026, but I imagine they will take a break for a few weeks during group stage and the first couple of knockout rounds. Most host cities will only be used up to the round of 16, with a few selected for Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and the Final. MLS could work around that by avoiding scheduling home games in those cities. So the West End Stadium is probably available for training.

 

They might also do tune-up games against other teams training geographically close, so they could potentially open that up. But again, this is speculation on my part.

On 7/10/2020 at 2:02 PM, ryanlammi said:

They might also do tune-up games against other teams training geographically close, so they could potentially open that up. But again, this is speculation on my part.

 

I was in Brazil in 2014 immediately prior to the WC and there was a lot of associated in-country tourism even weeks ahead of the actual matches. I went to Italy's tune-up friendly against Fluminense, so that's another potential thing that could happen depending on what MLS does to modify its schedule. I think similar friendlies would be more likely than tune-ups against actual future competition. 

 

A quick google-assisted recollection shows that the friendly was in Volta Redonda and we took a charter bus from Rio, but the 21k seat stadium appeared sold out. Interestingly, that city doesn't look to have had a match OR a team training there (Italy was ~1.5 hour drive away), though, so who knows, lot of speculation and potential factors. 

  • 1 year later...

FIFA officials will be in Cincinnati this week, taking a look around and meeting to discuss the 2026 World Cup bid. They will be touring Paul Brown Stadium, TQL Stadium and I’m sure venues such as the convention center.

On 10/19/2021 at 12:34 PM, 646empire said:

FIFA officials will be in Cincinnati this week, taking a look around and meeting to discuss the 2026 World Cup bid. They will be touring Paul Brown Stadium, TQL Stadium and I’m sure venues such as the convention center.

 

There's a party down at The Banks that includes your first drink at the Moerlein Lager House free, music, and food. If you're available, you should check it out. I think it starts at 2pm.

Over/under of Cincy actually getting the bid?

3 minutes ago, Troeros2 said:

Over/under of Cincy actually getting the bid?

I'm making this up, but I'd say there's a 20% chance we get it. Out biggest competitor is Nashville. Other completion includes DC, Baltimore, Boston, Orlando, Philadelphia, Houston, Denver, and Kansas City. I believe 4 of these cities will be picked. Many that are intuitively bigger cities have issues. Orlando and DC are already heavy tourist areas so hotel rooms could be scarce. Boston and Kansas City's stadiums are far from city centers, Baltimore is close to DC and Philly, etc. It's hard to predict who gets it.

 

But it is an uphill battle for Cincy.

6 minutes ago, Troeros2 said:

Over/under of Cincy actually getting the bid?


Hard to say!!! FIFA is naturally going to gravitate towards the big cities in the bid NYC, DC, Miami, LA and such BUT I still think there is a chance they throw a game to either Cincy or Kansas City since Chicago didn’t bid and the optics of picking at least one “ mid size heartland city”. Either way Cincinnati will probably be home base for a couple big name teams if it doesn’t get a game. To answer your question I’d give cincy a 40% chance of getting a game which actually isn’t bad.

2 minutes ago, ryanlammi said:

I'm making this up, but I'd say there's a 20% chance we get it. Out biggest competitor is Nashville. Other completion includes DC, Baltimore, Boston, Orlando, Philadelphia, Houston, Denver, and Kansas City. I believe 4 of these cities will be picked. Many that are intuitively bigger cities have issues. Orlando and DC are already heavy tourist areas so hotel rooms could be scarce. Boston and Kansas City's stadiums are far from city centers, Baltimore is close to DC and Philly, etc. It's hard to predict who gets it.

 

But it is an uphill battle for Cincy.


I think Nashville gets skipped because Atlanta will be automatic. I could be wrong tho.

1 minute ago, 646empire said:


I think Nashville gets skipped because Atlanta will be automatic. I could be wrong tho.

That's the hope! And Orlando could be skipped because of tourist attractions stealing hotel rooms and Miami and Atlanta hosting games nearby.

Just now, ryanlammi said:

That's the hope! And Orlando could be skipped because of tourist attractions stealing hotel rooms and Miami and Atlanta hosting games nearby.


True! Sadly Kansas City just built a new Lowes Convention Center Hotel :-( which I’m sure helps their bid. I’m hoping Cincy will show FIFA some under wraps renderings of our future hotel to fight back.

Ohio, Kentucky governors coming to Cincinnati on Friday to push World Cup bid.

 

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/ohio-kentucky-governors-coming-to-cincinnati-on-friday-to-push-world-cup-bid?_amp=true

 

I will say this Cincinnati’s bid from a political and Corporate support level in VERY STRONG. FIFA loves this stuff and money in particular. P&G’s CEO (the biggest advertiser on earth) along with Kroger and others are going to be leading the way on the bid as well. This is where Cincy could prevail. 

 

 

the US has 10 cities. Mexico has 3, and Canada has 3.

 

The US cities in contention are:

image.png.c887550a76777a58fc164d1867b067f0.png

 

I believe it has already been decided that New York, LA, Dallas, and Atlanta are hosting.

 

I would be shocked if Miami didn't get to host because it's one of the most international cities in the country. The others are up for grabs.

 

There also needs to be a city that is the HQ for the referees. They get their own designated city as well, and I think the bid document recommended Houston would be logical choices since they are close to the center of the country and have a lot of facilities. I don't know if that means they would skip Houston as a host city for games, or if that would encourage them to pick Houston.

 

Even if Cincinnati doesn't get to host games, we will likely get to be the host to a couple of national teams. Obviously not nearly as exciting as hosting games, but it would still be cool to have for any soccer nerds.

 

If you're really curious about the bid itself, you can see the official bid put together by US/Canada/Mexico here.

  • 7 months later...

At yesterday's Hamilton County Commissioners meeting, they discussed some of the details on what would be required to be upgraded at Paul Brown Stadium to be able to serve as a host for the World Cup. The big items are the installation of natural grass and the removal of corners to facilitate a wider field. 

Video of meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibVKE4uhDY 

WCPO coverage: https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/to-become-a-world-cup-host-paul-brown-stadium-needs-work-per-fifa-requirements

 

 

Hamilton County Manager Aluotto mentioned that the current sythetic turf at Paul Brown is scheduled to be replaced in 2026 anyways... though it wasn't clear to me if after the World Cup the Bengals would play on the new, natural grass, or would they reinstall synthetic turf?

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Regarding the corner cutouts for field expnasion, Aluotto said: "PBS was designed with the ability to remove the corners, which was incredible foresight 25 years ago for the stadium. However, there is in fact some more space needed which will require some additional concrete work and seat removal during the NFL offseason to accomodate those dimensions." This confused me since he seemed to be both saying that the stadium was designed to have the corners removed, but also that some additional modifications need to be made. It wasn't exactly clarified where the discrepancy arose. Did FIFA increase the field size requirements vs what was specified 25 years ago? Or did something else change? Aluotta showed a diagram that is too hard to dechiper through YouTube, but it looks like the different shades of pink might indicate the "original" corners vs the new larger corner cutouts. 

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56 minutes ago, jwulsin said:

At yesterday's Hamilton County Commissioners meeting, they discussed some of the details on what would be required to be upgraded at Paul Brown Stadium to be able to serve as a host for the World Cup. The big items are the installation of natural grass and the removal of corners to facilitate a wider field. 

Video of meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibVKE4uhDY 

WCPO coverage: https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/to-become-a-world-cup-host-paul-brown-stadium-needs-work-per-fifa-requirements

 

 

Hamilton County Manager Aluotto mentioned that the current sythetic turf at Paul Brown is scheduled to be replaced in 2026 anyways... though it wasn't clear to me if after the World Cup the Bengals would play on the new, natural grass, or would they reinstall synthetic turf?

spacer.png

 

Regarding the corner cutouts for field expnasion, Aluotto said: "PBS was designed with the ability to remove the corners, which was incredible foresight 25 years ago for the stadium. However, there is in fact some more space needed which will require some additional concrete work and seat removal during the NFL offseason to accomodate those dimensions." This confused me since he seemed to be both saying that the stadium was designed to have the corners removed, but also that some additional modifications need to be made. It wasn't exactly clarified where the discrepancy arose. Did FIFA increase the field size requirements vs what was specified 25 years ago? Or did something else change? Aluotta showed a diagram that is too hard to dechiper through YouTube, but it looks like the different shades of pink might indicate the "original" corners vs the new larger corner cutouts. 

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Strange they would be presenting this at this stage of the bidding process.  This will also be voted on this week. Maybe Cincy is picking up some steam over at FIFA?? I’ve actually turned more positive over the past week. Cincy is a much better option to “represent” the Midwest over Kansas City in my option. I didn’t realize the Chiefs stadium is so distant from its downtown and is definitely not better than PBS. With plenty of time for renovations PBS can be a great venue come 2026. 2 more weeks and we find out!

51 minutes ago, 646empire said:


Strange they would be presenting this at this stage of the bidding process.  This will also be voted on this week. Maybe Cincy is picking up some steam over at FIFA?? I’ve actually turned more positive over the past week. Cincy is a much better option to “represent” the Midwest over Kansas City in my option. I didn’t realize the Chiefs stadium is so distant from its downtown and is definitely not better than PBS. With plenty of time for renovations PBS can be a great venue come 2026. 2 more weeks and we find out!

It is interesting for sure. I remember reading that the Chiefs are wanting to plan for a new stadium too given the current age of the old stadium (it has received a lot of upgrades but it still is a 50 year old stadium at this point). I do not think Arrowhead was ever converted for FIFA standards either. If the Chiefs are going to push for a new stadium, would Kansas City want to invest in retrofitting Arrowhead for FIFA when it will be eventually torn down?  You have to figure that their cost to upgrade Arrowhead will be much more than PBS

8 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

It is interesting for sure. I remember reading that the Chiefs are wanting to plan for a new stadium too given the current age of the old stadium (it has received a lot of upgrades but it still is a 50 year old stadium at this point). I do not think Arrowhead was ever converted for FIFA standards either. If the Chiefs are going to push for a new stadium, would Kansas City want to invest in retrofitting Arrowhead for FIFA when it will be eventually torn down?  You have to figure that their cost to upgrade Arrowhead will be much more than PBS


Yeah I think the consensus in KC is to build a brand new stadium downtown. But unlike Nashville the plans for a new chiefs stadium is not nearly as finalized and certainly will not make it for the FIFA bid. 

Edited by 646empire

6 minutes ago, 646empire said:


Yeah I think the consensus in KC is to build a brand new stadium downtown. But unlike Nashville the plans for a new chiefs stadium is not nearly as finalized and certainly will not make it for the FIFA bid. 

Even though Nashville's plan is further along, I still think the time table in getting it open for the 2026 WC at this point is pretty optimistic. Even if all things go right, they are still likely 18 months at a minimum away from being able to break ground on something like that. 

24 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

Even though Nashville's plan is further along, I still think the time table in getting it open for the 2026 WC at this point is pretty optimistic. Even if all things go right, they are still likely 18 months at a minimum away from being able to break ground on something like that. 


Yeah the new Nashville Stadium isn’t being pushed in their bid. I’m thinking Cincy could also finish the last big block of The Banks across from radius in time for the World Cup too.

20 hours ago, jwulsin said:

Regarding the corner cutouts for field expnasion, Aluotto said: "PBS was designed with the ability to remove the corners, which was incredible foresight 25 years ago for the stadium. However, there is in fact some more space needed which will require some additional concrete work and seat removal during the NFL offseason to accomodate those dimensions." This confused me since he seemed to be both saying that the stadium was designed to have the corners removed, but also that some additional modifications need to be made. It wasn't exactly clarified where the discrepancy arose. Did FIFA increase the field size requirements vs what was specified 25 years ago? Or did something else change? Aluotta showed a diagram that is too hard to dechiper through YouTube, but it looks like the different shades of pink might indicate the "original" corners vs the new larger corner cutouts.


I wonder if they planned for the corners to be removed but for something other than a FIFA regulation field, like high school soccer or for some other sport/event altogether.

46 minutes ago, Dev said:


I wonder if they planned for the corners to be removed but for something other than a FIFA regulation field, like high school soccer or for some other sport/event altogether.

When they designed PBS in the 90s, it was shortly after the US close to the 94 World Cup so that was on their mind. Also, at that time, MLS was playing in football stadiums like Ohio State, soldier Field, Giant stadium, etc. and the thought was if CIncinnati ever got an MLS team it would naturally play at Paul BrownGiant stadium, etc. and the thought was if CIncinnati ever got an MLS team it would naturally play at Paul Brown

FIFA increased the regulation pitch size at some point.

I don't have any insight into this, but I'm curious if FIFA wants more space between the players and the fans during the World Cup than what MLS or other tournaments would want. Whether that would be for player/fan safety, TV considerations, security, or something else. I don't know the history of the pitch size.

On 6/1/2022 at 2:39 PM, Brutus_buckeye said:

It is interesting for sure. I remember reading that the Chiefs are wanting to plan for a new stadium too given the current age of the old stadium (it has received a lot of upgrades but it still is a 50 year old stadium at this point). I do not think Arrowhead was ever converted for FIFA standards either. If the Chiefs are going to push for a new stadium, would Kansas City want to invest in retrofitting Arrowhead for FIFA when it will be eventually torn down?  You have to figure that their cost to upgrade Arrowhead will be much more than PBS


Another interesting bit, FIFA sent over a contract on May 21? Seems like a very odd and late thing to do if a particular city’s bid is highly unlikely or dead. Exciting but I could be reading too much in it. I’ve always heard FIFA is a hot mess.

 

“County spokeswoman Bridget Doherty said FIFA delivered a proposed contract to the county May 21, requesting that it be signed within 10 days. The county sought an extension, which FIFA granted until Friday. That gave the county time to deliver the document to commissioners May 28 and schedule a public discussion on May 31, she said.”

 

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/i-team/did-arbitrary-deadline-heighten-world-cup-pressure-on-hamilton-countys-elected-officials

Edited by 646empire

2 hours ago, 646empire said:

Another interesting bit, FIFA sent over a contract on May 21? Seems like a very odd and late thing to do if a particular city’s bid is highly unlikely or dead. Exciting but I could be reading too much in it. I’ve always heard FIFA is a hot mess.

maybe there were a couple of other cities that passed on this document and never moved past this stage, quietly eliminating them from contention, hence the need to have the short turnover. If we did not agree in time, they would move to the next city on the list. 

Not to detract from this thread but what are the chances we actually get a bid? I’d love to have it but I highly doubt we get one of the slots. 

People with FC Cincinnati are saying Cincinnati will be getting World Cup matches.Not the main draws but still in.

Yeah, I've heard we're getting them as well.

I have not heard from any sources that we are getting games. I have heard the opposite from most. Grant Wahl has been calling different sources for a few months and continues to update who he suspects will get games and who won't based on those conversations. Cincinnati has always been listed as a team not expected to receive any games. I'm not convinced either way, personally.

 

There will be anywhere between 10 and 12 cities in the US selected (FIFA has not committed and there are rumblings it expands from the original 10).

 

Cities that are all but locks (4):

NYC

LA

Atlanta

Dallas

 

Likely host cities (4):

DC/Baltimore

Philadelphia

Miami

Houston

Everyone Else (8):

Kansas City

San Francisco

Seattle

Cincinnati

Nashville

Boston

Denver

Orlando

 

I think Boston is a terrible choice because of their stadium location (FIFA doesn't seem too hot on it, but Kraft is the head of the entire United 2026 project). I think Kansas City also has a disappointing stadium location, but not nearly as bad. Nashville's stadium is going to be done with its useful life in Summer 2026, and the new NFL stadium won't be ready in time for the World Cup. Orlando probably won't get it because of Miami. DC and Baltimore merged their bids into one, so they will probably be awarded (in Baltimore). Philadelphia is apparently highly favored by FIFA because the bid committee has already raised a lot of money and everyone else has only promised to raise money. Denver is allegedly not highly favored. Their bid was deemed "underwhelming". 

I just moved all of this to the 2026 World Cup topic since all of the Paul Brown Stadium discussion is contingent on Cincinnati being awarded as a host city.

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