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I know Jerry would put off getting another face lift to have the World Cup at his Deathstar though.
You are talking about soccer right?
Anyways, I've been following this bid very closely. I think 6 or 7 cities are locks if we were to host the World Cup.
New York City: Obvious Reasons
Washington DC: Biggest stadium out of the proposed sites, capital
Los Angeles: Though they have older stadiums, will get it regardless, definite host if they get a new stadium.
Miami: This site appeals to Latin America, plus they have a stadium built with a soccer pitch in mind.
DFW: Arguably best stadium on the list, huge market, Jerry Jones will do anything to host matches.
Houston: Though another Texas city, it has a retractable roof stadium, a Latin American soccer market, plus its on the last stop of FIFA's US tour bid, which I think solidifies Houston's bid.
Seattle: Great soccer stadium, and probably the best soccer fan base in the US
As for the other cities...
Boston/Philly/Baltimore: Because NYC and DC are likely to host, I only think one more city is likely to host out of the Northeast. Boston has always had a sizable soccer fanbase, but its stadium is in Foxborough, which could be troublesome for transportation and hotels. Philadelphia has a great location for its stadium, but it sits in right between NYC and DC. Baltimore although has a great venue, its too close to DC. I'm inclined to think that Boston has the edge here out of the these cities.
San Diego/Phoenix: Phoenix has the better stadium while San Diego has the bigger soccer fanbase. If San Diego gets a new stadium, then I think San Diego has a huge edge here.
Denver: Very nice football stadium, but its very remote in its geography (though the same could be said for Seattle)
KC/Indy: Both have nice stadiums. Indy has the roof while KC has the bigger stadium and soccer fanbase already established. However both cities, in no disrespect to them, are not really internationally known.
Atlanta/Nashville/Tampa: Hard to see another southern city selected if DFW, Houston, and Miami are almost locks. Atlanta has a dome, which could be hard to host matches because they don't play on artificial turf, though its been done before in the Silverdome with grass (There are rumors of removing the roof in the future). Nashville and Tampa have hosted US friendly matches, but are not really internationally known.
My assumptions are based on rewarding cities that have a soccer community established such as having a MLS team and also name recognition. FIFA and the US committee could have a different criteria. In the end, I think cities will be split up into different pods for traveling purposes for the fans. Pods would be split up into Northeast, South, Midwest, and West regions of 3 cities. I haven't taken into consideration of the Bay Area and Chicago. I think FIFA and the US bid team are willing to make exceptions for these cities later on if we host, especially if the Bay Area gets a new stadium. If that's the case, San Diego, Phoenix, KC, and Indianapolis could be in trouble trying to host matches. Again this is my opinion, nothing concrete on what will happen if selected.
Last edited by Fairlady Z; 09-07-2010 at 02:31 AM..
Houston, being an up and coming city would be a great choice to host the World Cup. But they would have to extend the mass transit quite soon for that to happen.
This is the one of the biggest reasons, along with the Super Bowl and 2016 Olympic bid, why the MetroRail was built in the first place. But yes Houston does need to extend what they already have now, and METRO knows that.
Over 52,000 showed up at Arrowhead stadium to watch the KC Wizards (MLS) play Manchester's second team that wasn't on "national" TV and basically few outside of KC even knew the game took place. I think KC had the second largest crowd for the Manchester United 2010 USA tour.
KC has also hosted other large soccer matches such as cup qualifiers, USA women's etc that also drew decent crowds.
The MLS KC Wizards currently are dead last in attendance only because they are playing in a temporary minor league baseball stadium that only seats 10k, which is what the Wizards average. So they are simply at capacity right now.
Suburban KCK is building a brand new stadium for the Wizards which could arguably be one of the finest soccer stadiums in the country when it opens next year.
Although a very different sport, the indoor KC Comets soccer team outdrew almost every NHL and NBA team during their peak in the 80's. Metro KC has some of the highest quality soccer facilities and fields you will find anyplace and youth soccer is extremely popular in metro KC.
My point is that Kansas City probably deserves this as much as any city despite its location. KC isn't internationally known sure, but so what. It's not domestically known either. Few have any idea what KC is like or what it offers right here in america. I continue to learn that everyday since I moved to the DC area.
Whatever the final list is, it needs to include Miami. Miami has so much South American and European population that interest in World Cup is pretty enormous by US standards.
I don't know where you come up with Seattle being far and away the best soccer market in the country.
Houston, Miami and Tampa are all a bigger soccer market than Seattle.
I would think Tampa/Miami or Houston/Dallas would be the best choices.
Basing it simply, or largely, due to the reason that its MLS Soccer Franchise is the best attended. Still doesn't make it the best soccer market, though.
I mean, Houston was one of 2 US cities FIFA's 2010 World Cup Trophy Tour,(the other being Miami) and it was the last stop at that, before heading back to South Africa. It has a good history of hosting international friendlies. It has a great stadium. It has one of the largest Latin American populations, and is one of the most diverse metros in the US, making it a very international city. It is a top 10 media market. It hosted, and rather well, the 2010 MLS All Star Game vs ManU, which of course was one of the top 5 most attended All Star Games in US proffesional sports history. It is currently the last stop for FIFA's 5 city tour of US's Bid for either 2018/2022. How can Seattle make a case against being a better soccer market than Houston, let alone best in the US.
Dallas hosted World Cup Games at the Cotton Bowl with 90,000+ fans played on grass.
Dallas and Los Angeles were the international broadcasting centers for the 1994 World Cup. They have already proven they can handle whatever the World Cup throws at them.
[quote=Fairlady Z;15784929]You are talking about soccer right?
Anyways, I've been following this bid very closely. I think 6 or 7 cities are locks if we were to host the World Cup.
New York City: Obvious Reasons
Washington DC: Biggest stadium out of the proposed sites, capital
Los Angeles: Though they have older stadiums, will get it regardless, definite host if they get a new stadium.
Miami: This site appeals to Latin America, plus they have a stadium built with a soccer pitch in mind.
DFW: Arguably best stadium on the list, huge market, Jerry Jones will do anything to host matches.
Houston: Though another Texas city, it has a retractable roof stadium, a Latin American soccer market, plus its on the last stop of FIFA's US tour bid, which I think solidifies Houston's bid.
Seattle: Great soccer stadium, and probably the best soccer fan base in the US
Very true. Within Houston, the Dynamo have a cult following and are getting their own stadium soon. The Dynamo stadium won't be big enough to host a World Cup match (capacity around 25-30k) but Reliant will be. Plus, while Houston is losing Continental (which is merging with United), Bush Intercontinental will be the largest United hub in America making it (what United has called it) the "gateway to Latin America".
I really think Houston (and Dallas) is a shoe-in to host World Cup matches. By the time 2022 rolls around, our light rail system will be expanded (expansion construction work is underway as I type this).
World Cup 2022: United States all the way baby!!! The Game Is In US!
I forgot about the Cotton Bowl. In that case, axe Nashville and put Dallas in.
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