Tampa in consideration to host World Cup

Sigh. It's like it's 1993 all over again.

Sometimes I really despise Disney.

A more aggressive World Cup bid group in Tampa might be able to land the World Cup if they had the Glazers cooperation, but when have the Glazers ever done anything for soccer in the Tampa Bay area? We're still waiting for that mythical Manchester United friendly match in Raymond James Stadium, aren't we? Idiot limeys keep calling ManU "the Rowdies" but the real Rowdies out in Tampa, and Tampa Bay area soccer in general, never see any benefit out of the Glazer-ManU connection.

Looking at that list, they have stadiums listed in Jacksonville, in Tallahasee, and in a bunch of other smaller markets that have no chance of landing a World Cup spot.

It's a pretty comprehensive list, actually. Tampa being on it means nothing, I'm afraid.

But what a huge boost for the Rowdies if Tampa were a World Cup host city!

 

It would be sweet to have WC games in Tampa

 

I would agree with you 100%. The Citrus Bowl would have to be leveled and rebuilt to be anywhere close to RJS quality.

That said, most likely there will only be one Florida location. Size of market means nothing. Soccer history doesn't really count for much either. It is where they can sell the most tickets. That is where RJS will hurt, because it is on the small size. Smaller than both Miami and Jacksonville stadiums for example.

 

We aren't getting the bid in 2018. Earliest we get it is 2022; surely they could afford a renovation sometime between now and 2022. "The next couple of years" simply isn't relevant. We're talking the next 13 years.

On the other hand, this is local government we're talking about, right? So they probably won't get their act together in the next 13 years. Especially since there isn't a local NFL team to encourage the locals to get their act together.

 

Really? Checking wiki, Dolphins stadium only has about 9,000 more seats, and Jacksonville only has about 2,000 more. Apparently Jacksonville can be expanded for big college games and Super Bowls with temporary bleachers, but I don't see why you couldn't do that at RJS if it really mattered; you could move the stupid pirate ship out of the way temporarily, for instance, and put in some bleachers.

Aha....checking the wiki again, it says RJS is "expandable to 75,000 for special events" so I really don't see what the problem is in regards to capacity.

But I really don't think stadium capacity is the issue here. I don't think FIFA really cares how many seats the stadium has, once it meets their minimum capacity (40,000 or whatever it is now). Likewise with the USA World Cup organizers, although they will want to maximize the total crowds, I doubt they really care how many seats a stadium has once it is above 60,000 seats. An extra ten thousand isn't going to make any difference.

And besides, with the temporary expandable capacity, RJS is the equal of Dolphins Stadium and not that much smaller than Jacksonville.

What really matters is how modern is the facility; this is where the Citrus Bowl falls behind. Dolphin Stadium is a decade older than RJS and is feeling its age a bit, but could easily be modernized. Jacksonville Municipal Stadium is a couple of years younger than RJS but is essentially its equal in terms of modernity.

Basically, baring new stadium construction in Florida between now and 2022, or radical overhaul of one of the other stadiums, I'd say that RJS would have to be considered the best stadium in Florida right now for consideration for World Cup hosting status.

Orlando has advantages in terms of Disney, but if its "central location in Florida" you want, Tampa is also in central Florida. Jacksonville is not centrally located, and if Atlanta is also a host city, that pretty much eliminates the need for Jacksonville.

Miami has some advantages as its is considered the "gateway to the USA" by Latin Americans and is the most international city of Florida. If a serious and well connected organizing committee in Miami got its act together, they would be hard to beat.

All in all, in terms of quality of facilities and centrality of location, Tampa has an edge, if, and only if, we can get the Glazers on board any Tampa World Cup Host planning committee. Without the Glazers help I just don't see how this thing could fly.

 

D'oh! I meant it was a couple of years older than RJS.

 

Support the hell out of your Rowdies, make the USSF notice you. That's the way.

Oh, and don't be concerned with Jacksonville. A pitch can't fit without lower the capacity.

 

Yes. Hopefully the new Rowdies ownership is successful with their upcoming marketing campaign and Rowdies fans show up in large numbers and catch the interest of soccer organizers and potential investors and corporate sponsors who have been dismissing or ignoring Tampa soccer due to some false assumptions created by the MLS Mutiny fiasco.

Thanks. I did not know that. Anyway the facilities are pretty much equal between the two cities; but Tampa has a lot more to offer than Jacksonville does in other areas and that's what will make the difference, or not, in getting a World Cup host spot. I'd be more worried about competition from Miami, if they have a good organizing committee.

Speaking of which, who is on the Tampa World Cup organizing committee? Deadline is fast approaching:

I'll see if I can google it later when I have a moment.

Edit to add: Unfortunately the recent announcement of the 70 potential sites has flooded google search with too many false returns; does anyone know the actual name of the Tampa World Cup host organizing committee? I've tried several different searches without any luck.

 

This is almost three years old but at least it looks like someone is working on it:

I admire his enthusiasm, but the final is out of the question; FIFA wants the final to be played in an 80,000 seater so unless RJS is expanded (and maybe a retractable roof added) I don't see that happening. Tampa would be perfectly fine for group stage matches, though. But the clock is ticking, they need to reply to USSF deadline soon and start thinking about putting together an organizing committee, if one does not already exist.

 

I think your real competition will come from Orlando, Charlotte and Nashville. Texas will likely have two venues, no reason Florida can't. I see Miami as automatic.

I would include Birmingham but I don't think they're financially healthy enough to think about anything for a long, long time.

But Orlando and Tampa would have to make really, really good bids to convince the USSF to put a second venue in the State.

 

I don't see Miami as a lock, at all. If Miami really were a lock, it should have been a host city in 1994, when their stadium was brand new and far superior to most of the other stadiums actually used. There are problems with Miami: Dolphins Stadium is not conveniently located; it's out in the suburbs, in the middle of nowhere, a long drive from downtown and the airport. It's not very convenient for foreign visitors. Raymond James is right next to downtown and the airport. That makes moving the fans around very simple.

I've read similar problems in regards to Nashville (no public transit, stadium not well located for out of town visitors) and I don't know about the specifics of Charlotte. I just have a very hard time imagining the World Cup committee putting World Cup matches in places like Charlotte, Nashville, or Birmingham.

Orlando is certainly a contender if they can fix up the Citrus Bowl.

I doubt Florida will get more than one host city simply due to the weather. Texas at least has new, air conditioned, retractable roofed stadiums in Houston and Dallas, so they don't need to worry about the heat. Ditto Arizona. Due to European TV considerations we'll see matches played in the mid-day summer heat again, and you don't want to have too many matches like that if you can avoid it.

 

Having been to Nashville twice for soccer (Olympic Qual semi and final in March 2008 and last week for WCQ it is a great stadium and the location is really good. There is public transport from the airport (and airport area) to downtown. You get off the bus at the downtown bus terminal and walk two blocks, over a bridge (ten - fifteen minute walk) and the stadium is right there. If you are staying in the downtown area there is a downtown shuttle and you can walk to the stadium. I went last week, stayed by the airport and rode the city bus. It was a piece of cake.

 

Here is some info about the bids:

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/breaking-news/story/992874.html

This is a old article from 2006, but it shows how people at the top fight for soccer in Tampa:

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2006/05/22/story9.html?jst=s_cn_hl

 

Serves me right for repeating something I read on a soccer blog comment section (I think they may have been referring to the public transit situation in Nashville as a whole, not just connections between the airport, hotels, and the stadium). How is Nashville set up for dealing with large numbers of international travelers? I still have a very hard time believing it would be in a leading list of southeastern candidate cites for the World Cup. Top cities capable of dealing with large numbers of overseas visitors would IMO be Atlanta, Orlando, Tampa, and Miami (except for the Dolphin Stadium location itself).

 

That's nice Whitestar, but I posted that like four posts before yours, on this very same page!

 

Nashville is well equipped to handle travelers, it does have some tourist elements to it.

Charlotte has a light rail project that it's working on, and obviously a bus system. That said, it's a very residential city but it does host three of NASCAR's biggest events every year, one attracts 350,000 visitors.

 

Right, but for the World Cup it's more a matter of how well a city is equipped to handle large numbers of overseas visitors. It doesn't hurt if the city has more attractions for foreign visitors than just the soccer, and I'm afraid the NASCAR ain't one of those attractions.

 

I'm just using it as an example that it can handle them. Most Mecklenburgers don't even care about NASCAR to be honest, heh.

I guess one thing can be said in it's favor: "Charlotte, hey, at least it's not Atlanta."

 

Right but your average foreigner coming to spend time and money in the States, especially for a World Cup, is probably going to prefer Atlanta to Charlotte, or anyway he or she will actually know something about Atlanta and where it is and what he or she can do there. I doubt most foreigners have ever heard of Charlotte, or could locate it on a map. Plus, Atlanta has a major international airport.

 

Check out the Four in the Back Podcast at www.kenn.com

They had an interesting discussion about why so many stadiums were on the initial list. One of their conclusions was that this list is remind the world of just how massive our stadia infrastructure is in this country in case a last minute substitute host is needed for 2010 or 2014.

I like their idea. FIFA would hate to pull the WC out of South Africa or Brazil, but the possibility does exist that they might have no choice. The USA would be ready.

In that scenario, there would be little time for upgrades, etc. I like RJS's chances in that scenario. It can be boosted with temporary seating and has experience hosting Super Bowls.

 

Agreed. Although I hope we don't get a World Cup because South Africa or Brazil have to pull out at the last moment; both because that would be bad for South Africa and Brazil, and also because it would result in a USA World Cup with little advanced planning and marketing (consider the differences between the 1999 Women's World Cup, and the 2003 Women's World Cup).

The longer the lead-in time before the next World Cup is held in the USA, the better. Which is why I'd prefer we get 2022 instead of 2018; Europe is more likely to get 2018 in any case, but also, although we will be forced to wait 4 years longer for 2022, the organizers will also have 4 more years to get all their ducks in a row. And some fantastic new stadia might open up between 2018 and 2022, too.

What are the chances that they might put up a moveable roof/retractable dome over Raymond James Stadium? Close the roof and turn on the AC. Okay, I'm dreaming. Just throwing that idea out there.

 

it's official:

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/apr/23/tampa-bid-hosting-world-cup-wrestlemania-events/#comments

 

I swear, I should never read the readers comments on newspaper blogs. There is no intelligent life there, and by no intelligent life I of course mean soccer-bashers.

I mean, seriously, how stupid and ill-informed can these idiots be, if they express such concern over "soccer hooligans"! Did we have a problem with "soccer hooligans" when we hosted the World Cup in 1994? No. What rocks do these people crawl out from under?