The game in the US will be the biggest one for us at home in the Hex. There is a very large and vocal following for Mexico here in the US. If it is the very first game in the Hex, the US may decide to go for a large stadium, the Meadowlands or Gillette Stadium and go for ticket sales, figuring there may be an opportunity to make up the damage if somehow the US loses (I understand it has been quite a few years since the USA lost a home game in qualifying, something like 1991 if I am not mistaken). If the game vs Mexico is the last one for the US in the hex, there is a greater likelihood of a safe/small venue such as Columbus.
Columbus Crew Stadium for soccer specific stadium or Chicago Soldier Field for large stadium. Soldier Field has a much better atmosphere of the bigger stadiums than anyone I've seen in the U.S.
Last time I also read that the game was held in Columbus because of the small amount of Hispanics that live in that area. It is the only place we should ever play a WCQ against them.
This post was so not grounded in reality. Fact checking these bizarre claims, the US lost a home qualifier in 2001. Not such a distant memory. And since the US hosted the World Cup in 1994, there wouldn't have been any qualifiers for the US in that cycle. Not to mention qualifying for 1994 wouldn't begin until 1992. Someone else can go into why a capacity stadium the US can get any other time in the calendar is financially not worth the points it would drop if it was the difference between qualifying and not qualifying for its sixth consecutive World Cup. I can't; there are just so many inaccuracies here.
You're so right. My bad, I said US lost to Honduras at RFK in '97, but you're right, it was in 2001, even more recent!
My bad. The USA has lost one home WC qualifying game since May of 1985. That was the 2001 qualifying match at RFK in Washington, DC. It was not in 1997 as was originally suggested above.
They're building a 400 million dollar bridge from Anchorage to Wasilla. Not exactly nowhere, many more people in Wasilla than the islands outside of Ketchikan. Wasilla is not an island but it is on a peninsula and it will shorten the commute for some of the folks there plus increase the value of some land for a Republican congressman's son-in-law, who heads a group of land property developers. As for Alaska, would be fun to have a WCQ in Hawaii, Guam or Puerto Rico. Not too many Mexicans in any of those places, either.
My bad. Double checked and it's actually a $600,000,000 project earmark. From an Associated Press report
What about in a state like North Carolina or Maine where the population of Mexicans is not high. I really would like to see it at Statesville though.
Not to mention it's fairly easy to get to NC from surrounding areas that have seen a large Mexican immigration. Maine would probably be better, but in the end it seems to make sense to sell tickets via an MLS season ticket list (as mentioned earlier) and hope to keep the crowd mostly pro USA.
When considering venues, please keep in mind that immigrant populations drive, have cars, fly on airplanes and use the internet. Thinking a location limits the base of fans that will go to the game is folly.
From talking to some Columbus fans regarding this....they told me that they (Crew Stadium) would be able to add temp seating back in for say something like the US vs Mexico WCQ. It was one of the questions that the fans brought up when they brought in the stage if im not mistaken
To some extent, you are correct but location definately matters. Look at the game in DC as an example. We have 60 tickets purchased for the game just involving the bus we running and not taking into acct other people going down and the bus that AO is doing with NYC Chapter. In Chicago, we had like 10 of us out there from NY/NJ area. Location matters. If it is in easy driving distance from immigrant populations, NY, Boston, CT, DC ......fans from all around will be able to drive or get on a bus because its still affordable. If the game involves a 10 hour bus drive one way, its harder to find a bus company, it becomes more money and less people will be able to go. If the game involves a $400 flight, even less people will be able to go. (and that works both ways...for US fans and for opposing fans)