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[1995hoo]

BTW, FedEx Field charges—or at least, it did the last time we went there for a U2 concert a few years ago—$60 cash to park at the sprawling stadium lots.

[Scott5114]

I had no idea that all of Europe is the Netherlands.

I think you know that Holland has gone further than just about any other country to try and make it possible to live without a car.

Holland isn't even a country. You don't know what you're talking about.

[CoreySamson]

Ranking the venues by their transit access:
Houston (NRG Stadium) - D - A half-hourly bus that requires a transfer to reach downtown or anywhere of note.

I would like to point out that NRG Stadium is directly served by the METROrail Red Line (and has been since 2013), which connects it to Midtown, the Museum district, and downtown. I think that it should be bumped up to a C, but not any higher.

[SkyPesos]

And if you look at the way they plan their cities, you see a lot of similarities to American ones with clear hierarchies of arterial, collector, and access roads.

The McDonalds parking lots that dump you straight onto arterial roads says no.

[SP Cook]

In case anybody is curious, here are the specific World Cup/NFL overlaps. All times Eastern

Thursday 11/24 (Thanksgiving): 2pm: Brazil vs Croatia 2pm ET; 12:30 pm: BUF at DET

Sunday 11/27: 2pm: Spain vs Germany; 1pm: TB at CLE, CIN at TEN, HOU at MIA, CHI at NYJ, ATL at WAS, DEN at CAR, BAL at JAX

Sunday 12/4: 2pm: R16 B1 (potentially USA) vs B2; 1pm: PIT at ATL, GB at CHI, JAX at DET, NYJ at MIN, WAS at NYG, TEN at PHI, DEN at BAL, CLE at HOU

No World Cup games on 12/11 as they're in between the quarterfinals and semifinals. The final on 12/18 starts at 10am so it will be over by the time the NFL kicks off.

That is for 22, right?  They are playing in some Gulf Arab dictatorship and it has to be in the winter because it will only be 110 degrees and not 130?  The 26 deal is in the summer, when the NFL stadiums will be available.  The NFL would never allow anything in their stadiums in-season. 

As a frequent visitor to Cincinnati, I'm really glad we were passed over.  Hamilton County was going to spend $10M to make Paul Brown Stadium acceptable for these handful of games, on top of the $250M they spent to build a soccer stadium, and the well over a billion in today's money spent on the PBS and Great American Ball Park. Much of it coming from "soak the stranger" taxes.  Now maybe the region can work on making the roads, and schools and policing, and other important things better.

[NWI_Irish96]

In case anybody is curious, here are the specific World Cup/NFL overlaps. All times Eastern

Thursday 11/24 (Thanksgiving): 2pm: Brazil vs Croatia 2pm ET; 12:30 pm: BUF at DET

Sunday 11/27: 2pm: Spain vs Germany; 1pm: TB at CLE, CIN at TEN, HOU at MIA, CHI at NYJ, ATL at WAS, DEN at CAR, BAL at JAX

Sunday 12/4: 2pm: R16 B1 (potentially USA) vs B2; 1pm: PIT at ATL, GB at CHI, JAX at DET, NYJ at MIN, WAS at NYG, TEN at PHI, DEN at BAL, CLE at HOU

No World Cup games on 12/11 as they're in between the quarterfinals and semifinals. The final on 12/18 starts at 10am so it will be over by the time the NFL kicks off.

That is for 22, right? 

Yep, wrong thread. I'll delete and repost there.

[Bruce]

Ranking the venues by their transit access:
Houston (NRG Stadium) - D - A half-hourly bus that requires a transfer to reach downtown or anywhere of note.

I would like to point out that NRG Stadium is directly served by the METROrail Red Line (and has been since 2013), which connects it to Midtown, the Museum district, and downtown. I think that it should be bumped up to a C, but not any higher.

Totally missed that, but it's far away from the actual stadium.

[Road Hog]

So basically only 2 NFL Sundays where there is a conflict? The first Sunday looks like no biggie since no big national NFL teams are in play. If USA makes it to the second Sunday, Steelers and Packers will be on, but by that point the Team USA hype will be cutting diamonds.

[thspfc]

So basically only 2 NFL Sundays where there is a conflict? The first Sunday looks like no biggie since no big national NFL teams are in play. If USA makes it to the second Sunday, Steelers and Packers will be on, but by that point the Team USA hype will be cutting diamonds.

Pfft. You guys don’t realize just how much the NFL dominates the US sports landscape. Don’t get me wrong, I want to see this WC do well in the US and grow the game. But a USA round of 16 game would still get beat handily by a Steelers or Packers game.

[Bruce]

Reminder that this is the 2026 thread, not the 2022 thread.

[ET21]

The Midwest essentially only has KC. No Twin Cities, Detroit, Green Bay, Chicago, or Indy. Was kinda shocked they didn't take a look at Lambeau

[rlb2024]

The Midwest essentially only has KC. No Twin Cities, Detroit, Green Bay, Chicago, or Indy. Was kinda shocked they didn't take a look at Lambeau

I don't know that the field at Lambeau is wide enough for World Cup soccer.  A soccer pitch is 70 to 80 yards wide, much wider than the 53 1/3 yards of a football field.

[JayhawkCO]

And Green Bay doesn't have nearly enough hotel rooms for an event of this size. I would have been surprised if FIFA has heard of Green Bay.

[Big John]

GB is holding a soccer friendly next month, but with a narrower pitch that what FIFA prefers.

[mgk920]

The Midwest essentially only has KC. No Twin Cities, Detroit, Green Bay, Chicago, or Indy. Was kinda shocked they didn't take a look at Lambeau

Lambeau Field is too narrow for fútbol games that count.  They would have to remove 5-8 rows of seats from each side to make it fit.  The Manchester United-Bayern München game this coming July there will only be a 'friendly' type game.

I'm really surpized that Chicago didn't make a bid to host at least one game at Soldier Field (which hosted the opening ceremony and game in 1994).

Mike

[thspfc]

The Midwest essentially only has KC. No Twin Cities, Detroit, Green Bay, Chicago, or Indy. Was kinda shocked they didn't take a look at Lambeau

Lambeau Field is too narrow for fútbol games that count.  They would have to remove 5-8 rows of seats from each side to make it fit.  The Manchester United-Bayern München game this coming July there will only be a 'friendly' type game.

I'm really surpized that Chicago didn't make a bid to host at least one game at Soldier Field (which hosted the opening ceremony and game in 1994).

Mike

I agree. And Chicago has a great soccer culture too.

[kernals12]

So, what highway projects might help or hurt (if construction is going during the event)the traffic situation at these matches?

[1995hoo]

The Midwest essentially only has KC. No Twin Cities, Detroit, Green Bay, Chicago, or Indy. Was kinda shocked they didn't take a look at Lambeau

The organizers contacted whoever operates Lambeau Field, but apparently the operators weren't interested in pursuing it.

The following is the full list of venues that may have been considered in some way (alphabetized by city in each list).

Contacted but didn't submit a bid:

• McMahon Stadium (Calgary)
• Lambeau Field (Green Bay)
• Stade Saputo (Montreal)
• SDCCU Stadium (San Diego)
• SkyDome (Toronto)

Submitted bids that were rejected in the first round:

• Legion Field (Birmingham)
• FirstEnergy Stadium (Cleveland)
• Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)
• EverBank Field (Jacksonville)
• Superdome (New Orleans)
• TD Place Stadium (Ottawa)
• Heinz Field (Pittsburgh)
• Mosaic Stadium (Regina)
• Alamodome (San Antonio)

Submitted bids that were rejected in the second round:

• Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte)
• Cotton Bowl (Dallas)
• Ford Field (Detroit)
• Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)
• Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
• University of Phoenix Stadium (Glendale)
• Rice-Eccles Stadium (Salt Lake City)
• Raymond James Stadium (Tampa)

Submitted bids but withdrew voluntarily:

• Soldier Field (Chicago)
• U.S. Bank Stadium (Minneapolis)
• FedEx Field (Landover)
• Stade Olympique (Montreal)

Submitted bids that were rejected in the final selection:

• M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore)
• Paul Brown Stadium (Cincinnati)
• Empower Field at Mile High (Denver)
• Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton)
• Nissan Stadium (Nashville)
• Camping World Stadium (Orlando)
• Rose Bowl (Pasadena)

[Road Hog]

I was disappointed that the Cotton Bowl was rejected, but then again, outdoor weather in DFW in late June is a crapshoot. It could be tolerable low 90s or it could be 100-plus with a heat index like we got now. It's always 72 and dry in Jerry World, and sometimes it's even sunny when Jerry forgets to drop the curtains.

[mgk920]

I'm also a bit surprised that the Rose Bowl was ultimately rejected as a hosting venue.  IMHO, it is the closest thing to a 'national' stadium that the USA has and has already hosted two WC championship games.  The men in 1994 and women a few years later.

Mike

[NWI_Irish96]

I'm also a bit surprised that the Rose Bowl was ultimately rejected as a hosting venue.  IMHO, it is the closest thing to a 'national' stadium that the USA has and has already hosted two WC championship games.  The men in 1994 and women a few years later.

Mike

SoFi stadium is much more modern (and climate controlled) and they were never going to have two sites in the same metro area.

[thspfc]

I'm also a bit surprised that the Rose Bowl was ultimately rejected as a hosting venue.  IMHO, it is the closest thing to a 'national' stadium that the USA has and has already hosted two WC championship games.  The men in 1994 and women a few years later.

Mike

SoFi stadium is much more modern (and climate controlled) and they were never going to have two sites in the same metro area.

The exact same can be said of Jerry World compared to the Cotton Bowl.

[triplemultiplex]

The last time they did this in The States, didn't FIFA make them put real grass in all the domes they used?

[NWI_Irish96]

The last time they did this in The States, didn't FIFA make them put real grass in all the domes they used?

Yes and I'm sure they'll have to do it again.

[1995hoo]

The last time they did this in The States, didn't FIFA make them put real grass in all the domes they used?

Not just in the dome (there was only one used, the Silverdome) but in the outdoor venues as well. Giants Stadium had an AstroTurf field in normal use and they had to put down temporary grass for the World Cup. While by all accounts FieldTurf is much closer to real grass than AstroTurf is, it almost certainly won't matter. Recall how some of the women's players brought a sex discrimination lawsuit against FIFA for allowing portions of the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada to be played on artificial turf despite requiring real grass for the men's World Cup. I believe they ultimately agreed to dismiss the case and I don't know whether there was a settlement as part of that, but at least two venues for next year's Women's World Cup (Dunedin and Melbourne) will be using hybrid grass that contains artificial fibers. I understand FIFA are still stricter about it as to the men's World Cup, though.