of course! how could i forget? i've heard around these boards the us still has a war chest of $ left over from '94....
Bob Costas just interviewed Jerry Jones before the Kentucky Derby and he said that the new Cowboys stadium could seat 120,000 for the Super Bowl. I thought that the cap was 100,000. If the new number is true, I don't think that the USSF could resist hosting the highest attended final since 1950. Of course, if the Redskins move into a 200,000 seat stadium, we could break Brazil's record for a final.
The Citrus Bowl is kind of a dump by today's standards, as is Dolphin Stadium. I know there's a lot of appeal in Miami, but if you had to limit it to one Florida location, I think Tampa would get it. Reasonably wide field, modern stadium, but most of all, the place is right next to Tampa Bay International Airport. Getting to games would be about as easy as it gets for a place with no real mass transit. (though I technically live in Sarasota, so I'm a little biased)
I think that 16 venues would be ideal but 12 would be realistic. I can't believe the folks in Las Vegas showed interest. Sam Boyd Stadium is too small, has field turf and has no roof. Nobody is going to want to play in that desert heat, especially if games are at midday to accomodate a Euro tv audience like in '94. If the desert gets a venue it's U of Phoenix Stadiuim in Glendale as that place has a retractable roof and field. Let Vegas host The Draw again like they did in '94. As far as California venues are concerned, Memorial Stadium in Berkeley and The Coliseum in Los Angeles are out. They need serious renovations and parking is a nightmare in Berkeley. The Oakland Coliseum needs major renovations as well. The concourses are way to narrow, sight lines poor and asymmetrical configurations. Cross Oakland, Berkeley and L.A. Coliseum off the list. The best Bay Area venue capable of hosting is Stanford Stadium. Their 50K capacity is 10K more than the FIFA minimum criteria for hosting. Although if the 49ers get a new stadium then they should get to host considering the larger capacity (68,000). Now for L.A. Pretty simple. It's either a renovated Rose Bowl or a new NFL Stadium in City of Industry. Renovated Rose Bowl is more realistic as Pasadena City and Rose Bowl officials have already presented plans to renovated the stadium. For the opening match and the final, having the opening match on one coast and the final on another would make sense but the new Jerry World in Arlington will be hard to ignore and will definitely be up for consideration for either the opener or final. IMO, the new Meadowlands Stadium should get the final. L.A. or Dallas should get the opener. That being said, here are my picks including which are virtual locks: Virtual locks Seattle (Qwest Field) Glendale (U of Phoenix Stadium) Denver (Mile High Stadium) Dallas (New Cowboys Stadium) Houston (Reliant Stadium) Chicago (Soldier Field) New York (New Meadowlands Stadium) Boston (Gillette Stadium) Nashville (LP Field) Pending renovation/construction: SF Bay Area (49ers new stadium or renovated Coliseum otherwise it's Stanford by default) L.A. (renovated Rose Bowl or new NFL Stadium in City of Industry) Questionable: Philadelphia ( Lincoln Field: Would the field need to be widened?) DC - (FedEx Field or new Stadium in DC proper although I don't see how FedEx, with its capacity, gets passed up) The rest (depending on 12,16 or more venues) Kansas City or Saint Louis (Arrowhead Stadium or Edward Jones Dome) Indianapolis (Lucas Oil Field) Cleveland (Browns Stadium has bigger capacity than PB Stadium in Cincy) Detroit (Ford Field) Tampa or Miami (Raymond James Stadium or Dolphin Stadium) Charlotte (B of A Stadium)
The venue being proposed in Vegas isn't Sam Boyd stadium. It is the Las Vegas City of Sports hotel and casino which is under development. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xmf3MZ0juM"]YouTube - Las Vegas City of Sports - small[/ame] And for a description of the project, it will have 21 arenas, and supposedly host around 2000 sporting events a year. http://www.inlineplanet.com/2007-02/14/cityofsports.html Its temperature controlled, but I'm skeptical that the main arena would have the seating capacity for the World Cup, but it sure sounds like a neat project.
I kind of suspect that USSF wants to use the gold cup as a test to see if/what improvements would be required for an actual WC. But with the combination of fact that the stadium is accessible to center city by express subway trains, and that the city is serviced by multiple rail lines, and a rail-linked airport with multiple European flights in and out every day, the Linc may be the most accessible stadium in the US* for a tournament full of foreign travelers who'd be traversing the country. *unless of course you're trying to get in and out of Philly by car. In that case, may god have mercy on your soul.
http://wusasoccer.yuku.com/topic/1698/t/MLS-Impressed-With-Turnout-at-the-Linc.html The field is 68 yards wide. I have a feeling that CONCACAF doesn't have to follow FIFA regulations for CONCACAF competitions, so they can allow narrower fields.
with regards to pitch size, not necessarily. according to section 4.1 of those huge fifa regs, the 105m x 68m pitch size is "obligatory" only for the fifa world cup, and for the final competitions in the confed championships. for all other intl games, the pitch size is only a recommendation. i guess the crux of it is, what round(s) do they mean by "final competions". group? knockout? final game(s) of each confed? also important, how much does concacaf care about fifa "recommendations" (ie, how involved is fifa in each confed's championship anyway?) i like the linc, but just because it's been used in other international competitions (gold cup, womens world cup, friendlies, etc.) doesn't mean it meets all the technical requirements for a mens world cup.
it should be noted, the spectrum is eing torn down, and PENN LIVE is being build.. it's a 5 star hotel, restaurants and entertainment complex, the sort of thing togive big crowds lots of options, before and after any match...
A decent list though I think your locks seems a little heavy on the West Coast, especially with the need to satisfy European viewers. I would say LA and DC are locks. No way that we host the World Cup and DC (our Capital city) doesn't get a match. I would actually expect it to get either the opening or the final assuming that it has an appropriate stadium. I would quibble on Glendale, Denver and Houston being locks. They may end up being used but, to me, they are by no means a lock now.
I think it's called "Philly Live!" FWIW. Is it still going on as planned? I haven't heard anything about it since last year's big announcements, so I was wondering if the poor economy has affected the project.
yeah, color me skeptical about the whole project. SOMETHING needed to be built because there really isn't anything around the stadiums right now... but anyone visiting from out of town just hops on the subway and goes to center city for post-match entertainment now. The whole thing just sounds no different from any other fake downtown type setup. As someone who lives downtown, I really can't imagine a reason to go to South Philly for entertainment.
http://philadelphia.about.com/od/arts/ss/philly_live.htm no wonder i didn't find anything under penn live... comcast is making buckets of money, so they can afford it... also, mls stadium being built along with a couple casinos, so i suppose the philly area ain't hit like so others..
I dunno. I don't really get the idea for a boutique hotel and fancy shops, but I think restaurants and bars would do quite well. First, you've got locals in South Philly who would be serviced. But moreso, I'm sure that people attending games or concerts would be happy to have places to eat and drink within walking distance of the stadiums as things to do both prior and after games. IIRC, there are reports that McFadden's at CBP does pretty well, better than expectations. If you drive to games, you have odd situations where there's nothing to do if you go early or stay late, but arriving just for the game puts you in traffic. Having "stuff" there can help to spread out the traffic especially the mad rush that occurs when a game ends.
the hoi poloi can stay at the 5 star hotel and do the plush restaurants... dr j is doing a restaurant... i think most of them cater to the average fan... a huge cinema complex to go with the dave and buster types.. add in the airport is an easy 10-15 minutes away, even during rush hour