Philadelphia World Cup Bid

Discussion in 'Philadelphia Union' started by Z010 Union, Sep 30, 2009.

  1. Z010 Union

    Z010 Union Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 28, 2002
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Please sign this and pass on to your friends. Many of you signed the goUSAbid.com petition before, but this one is specific to host cities under consideration. Show the USSF that Philadelphia is a soccer city and should host World Cup games in 2018 or 2022.

    http://www.gousabid.com/city/local/philadelphia-pa/
     
  2. theearthisflat

    theearthisflat New Member

    May 12, 2009
    Philadelphia
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    done and done.

    would be so awesome to get some World Cup games here.
     
  3. VDub2174

    VDub2174 Member

    Sep 23, 2009
    Philadelphia, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Signed it when I saw the link on Twitter. I'd love to see the World Cup held in Philly!!
     
  4. Adam Zebrowski

    Adam Zebrowski New Member

    May 28, 1999
    i see philly being a 50/50 chance for matches...

    although the field might get expanded, which would make that more than 50/50, maybe 75/25
     
  5. Blind3

    Blind3 New Member

    Sep 6, 2008
    Media, PA.
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Thanks for the link. Done.
     
  6. chapka

    chapka Member+

    May 18, 2004
    Haverford, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The current standings, because I was curious (as of a few minutes ago):

    Code:
    5865  Seattle
    4343  Dallas
    4216  Chicago
    4177  NYC
    2597  Washington, D.C.
    2584  Philadelphia
    2566  Cleveland
    2321  Los Angeles
    2167  Houston
    2083  Indianapolis
    2072  Atlanta
    1774  Miami
    1591  Charlotte
    1538  Tampa Bay
    1512  Boston
    1355  Orlando
    1347  St. Louis
    1115  Denver
    1113  Oakland
    1115  Jacksonville
    1063  Nashville
    1044  Kansas City
    1004  San Diego
     941  Detroit
     940  Baltimore
     832  San Francisco
     813  Phoenix
    Who knew there were 4,000 soccer fans in Dallas?
     
  7. USArsnl

    USArsnl New Member

    Aug 4, 2006
    Philadelphia
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The FMF?
     
  8. chapka

    chapka Member+

    May 18, 2004
    Haverford, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My question is, will more people vote to bring the World Cup to Seattle than actually went to see the U.S. national team in the Gold Cup this year? They're a third of the way there...
     
  9. dangit77

    dangit77 Member

    Aug 2, 2006
    Philadelphia
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I've had several people request to sign the petition, which I have but can you sign the petition more than once? Looking at the numbers up there my guess is no.
     
  10. Brain Damage

    Brain Damage New Member

    May 14, 2009
    Temple University
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If you have multiple email accounts you can. As of now Philly has 2739 and overall there has been over 70,000 people sign...didn't take long to hit the 50,000 mark.
     
  11. Z010 Union

    Z010 Union Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 28, 2002
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    We need 50k for Philly
     
  12. chapka

    chapka Member+

    May 18, 2004
    Haverford, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The current leaders:

    Code:
    6003  Seattle
    4352  Dallas
    4225  Chicago
    4187  New York/New Jersey
    3176  Atlanta
    3112  Philadelphia
    2683  Cleveland
    2605  Washington, D.C.
    
    The other 19 cities are still under 2500. Philly has 3,000 down, 47,000 to go.
     
  13. Brain Damage

    Brain Damage New Member

    May 14, 2009
    Temple University
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    OH!!! Little different. I'm sure we will hit that.
     
  14. VDub2174

    VDub2174 Member

    Sep 23, 2009
    Philadelphia, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    I posted the link on my Facebook and Twitter, might have to MAKE some people sign up.....LOL
     
  15. Tifosi FC

    Tifosi FC New Member

    Oct 25, 2008
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    How will Philly overcome the field dimensions? Linc financial is way to narrow for World cup games
     
  16. chapka

    chapka Member+

    May 18, 2004
    Haverford, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No, it isn't. It's slightly too narrow (68 yards as opposed to 70 or 74 yards), and only a few seats in the corners would need to be removed to widen it. And that's assuming FIFA doesn't simply give the Linc an exception and let them play on a 68-yard field--it's been done before.
     
  17. chapka

    chapka Member+

    May 18, 2004
    Haverford, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And an update on the numbers:

    Code:
    9,576  Seattle
    4,392  Dallas
    4,236  Chicago
    4,203  New York
    4,089  Atlanta
    3,825  Philadelphia
    3,040  Cleveland
    The rest are under 3,000. Baltimore, Detroit, Phoenix and San Francisco are all under 1,000.
     
  18. RSwenson

    RSwenson Member

    Feb 1, 2000
    Let's get this straight. First of all, I have nothing against Philly (and I would love to have games played there). However, there will NEVER be a world cup game from now to eternity played on a 68-yard wide pitch. For the world cup FIFA insists on 74-75 yard wide fields, regardless of the variability allowed in the laws of the game… FIFA made a dispensation for Giant stadium, which managed to get the field up near 72 yards by slightly shortening the field...

    Here is a link from the discussions that were going on at the time. Be aware, the article messes up meters and yards in some places, so I understand if you don't take the pre '94 World Cup NY Times (back when I don't think the Times had anyone on staff who paid the slightest attention to the sport) to be the definitive source on the beautiful game. Nonetheless, they did get the field up near 72 yards and it took a major international compromise to get that approved (they were actually thinking of building a platform so that the field would actually go up over the first rows of the stadium, believe it or not)…

    http://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/07/sports/soccer-giants-stadium-is-closer-to-landing-cup-games.html

    …but this dispensation was only granted because they desperately wanted games in NY… Unless Philly could somehow convince FIFA that it was the center of the universe, or that there are no other options, either they are going to have to demolish the corners of the stadium or Philly is not going to get a game…

    I might add that there have been many other amazingly short-sighted moves in building American football stadiums over the last couple of years… For a couple of yards of width in the corners, they have essentially made the stadiums unsuited for World Cup games without significant renovations. Probably the most egregious example is Dallas (which, btw, would be slightly over 70 yards in width)… by accounts, it is possible that the FIFA officials who attended the opening of the stadium were so impressed with the facility that they might consider a bit of a waiver for them… but, whatever it might be, the Linc is no cowboys stadium…

    Sorry to say you will need to get out your jackhammers and wrecking balls, Philly, if you want WC games...
     
  19. chapka

    chapka Member+

    May 18, 2004
    Haverford, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Actually, what it took was a vote by FIFA. FIFA will vote for pretty much anything if it gets them more money.

    In other words, if it comes down to Philadelphia or Indianapolis, and FIFA thinks Philly will sell more tickets, they'll make the same exception for Philly that they did for New York and for the Silverdome in Detroit, which was also below regulation width. You can argue that FIFA were desperate to play in New York, but it's hard to argue that they were that desperate to play in Detroit on strips of grass laid over wooden pallets on top of artificial turf.

    Not saying it's a sure thing or that it'd be the best result from a sporting point of view. But the fact is they granted two exceptions last time, one for Giants Stadium which has basically the same field size (and Philly could get the same extra couple of yards by shortening the field beyond what FIFA usually allows, which is how Giants Stadium did it).
     
  20. Brain Damage

    Brain Damage New Member

    May 14, 2009
    Temple University
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    As a die-hard Cowboys fan, the field is in fact wide enough for soccer games - it was built for soccer and the sole purpose of one day bringing the World Cup and possibly the Olympic Games there.

    From the man himself:

    "Williams, whose soccer experience includes working with clubs in England and Mexico, said FIFA's minimum field specifications are 330 feet long and 210 feet wide. Cowboys Stadium can easily be configured to accommodate that standard.

    "Lots of venues can't squeeze in the layout of a soccer playing surface," he said. "Some didn't think of it. Some chose not to fit it in. We made sure the pitch layout of our playing surface would fit."

    To further void your point and the legitmacy of the rest of your arguement the Stadium has THREE removable turf fields: one for NFL, one for NCAA, and one for soccer.

    The Linc are not very accomidating towards Temple U but; when it comes to the field for a large soccer event like that, well money talks and they will listen. The World Cup would bring it loads of money. Aside from that, the Linc is much wider then Giants Stadium (to use your example) and would only have to remove the first two - three rows in each corner and maybe for safety purposes the first two rows on the either sideline.
     
  21. RSwenson

    RSwenson Member

    Feb 1, 2000
    70 yards wide is, indeed, wide enough for a soccer field... as I am sure everyone here knows, the laws of the game have a range of field dimensions and 70 yards is well within that... Many international games are played on 70 yard wide fields.

    However, there are tournament-specific regulations... and FIFA requires a 74-75 yard wide field for the WC...

    as has been stated, they have made exceptions... and I think with the bells and whistles Cowboys stadium has wowed the suites from FIFA enough to earn an exemption, which they will need unless they structurally remodel the corners... fortunately, the change in field dimensions would not have to be a great as it would be for the Linc... I don't know what would be involved in reconstructing the corners, but I bet it would not be cheap...
     
  22. RSwenson

    RSwenson Member

    Feb 1, 2000
    BTW, here is a link for those interested:

    A FIFA World Cup final in little ol’ Dallas? It absolutely could happen

    Also, for people not used to looking at soccer field dimensions, the little hash along the end line is supposed to be 11 yards from the corner (10 yards from the 1 yard arc at the corner). Since the penalty box is 44 yards wide, that hash has to be 4 full yards outside the penalty box in order to reach 74 yards. That is, it has to be at least the length of 2 tall people lying down head to foot. It helps when estimating the width of a field.
     
  23. chapka

    chapka Member+

    May 18, 2004
    Haverford, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Today's top ten sees Philly in the #2 position, but Atlanta and Dallas aren't far behind. Keep up the pressure! Who do you know who hasn't signed the petition yet?

    Code:
    1. 11,557  Seattle
    2.  4,866  Philadelphia
    3.  4,741  Atlanta
    4.  4,431  Dallas
    5.  4,288  Chicago
    6.  4,246  New York/New Jersey
    7.  3,204  Cleveland
    8.  2,682  Indianapolis
    9.  2,645  Washington, D.C.
    10. 2,540  Charlotte, N.C.
    The rest are still below 2,500. Last place? San Francisco, with 866, followed by Phoenix, with 892
     
  24. sara_laughs

    sara_laughs New Member

    Jun 16, 2008
    Reading, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What the hell does it even mean though? I mean, are the wc people even going to care, really? How valid can this be if you can sign the petition over and over again? So Seattle has the most email addresses and Philly comes in second. It's not like those are all actual people. I even signed the damn thing twice and could sign it about four more times with all my own different email addresses. And what's keeping me from entering all the addresses in my contacts as signers for Philly? Nothing.

    Ok, I'm grouchy and I could have phrased this all nicer but I'm not in the mood. Suck it.
     
  25. Z010 Union

    Z010 Union Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 28, 2002
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They will remove multiple entries from the signing apparently. I would still encourage everyone to sign with all of their email addresses.
     

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