WWC in the USA? What stadiums?

It's probably going to go to Australia anyway.

 

probably most of the same ones that the last WWC was played in, with the final, as usual in the rose bowl...

 

Grass at the Silverdome? There's no way they'll do that for the WWC. Blackbaud stadium might be a good choice though. And Lockhart. And Crew Stadium.

 

with as much money as the WWC will draw, they will make room for the WWC for sure. Make no mistake about it that money can do anything.

 

it7s almost confirmed that it will go to the US.

 

Yup.

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-dc&prov=reuters&type=lgns

Other stadiums to consider are the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Herndon in Atlanta. SAS. Blaine, Minnesota.

Unfortunately the no football criteria eliminates stadiums near Idaho like PGE in Portland and Seahawk up in Seattle and Stanford and Spartan.

 

Wwwwww...WHAT!

Until earlier this evening, I thought the WWC would definityly go to Australia for these reasons:

1) Not enough large stadiums in the U.S. to host the tournament during American Football (NFL) and college football season.

2) Australia already had preliminary plans for WWC in case China couldn't host.

3) It was held here last time, so why award it to us again.

4) Slight concern with security issues. (Strange cancellations of teams in the past few months).

I understand the money issue, but would Americans be willing to pony up again for something that is supposed to be a twice in a lifetime experience that was just here?

I just know that I will go.

 

First and foremost I think everyone needs to step back and realize that 1999 will never ever be replicated ever again. The media hype will simply not be there because there are "bigger" things going on in the sports world during that time (if FIFA sticks with the original dates)...NFL, college, and MLB playoffs. Therefore it should be done on a less grander scale.

And there should be some cause for concern about attendance problems, save for the Safeco Gold Cup games, the USWNT has experienced the past couple of years.

The average attendance for the 1999 WWC was 38,833. When it was held in Sweden in 1995 it was 4,316 and in 1991 when it was held in China it was 19,615. I am guessing that attendance for this tourney will hover around the 15,000 range. I would expect maybe 25,000 plus for the final if the US was in it.

 

From the Sunday Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9292-2003May3.html

 

For anyone who is curious, the Rose Bowl is open on Oct. 11 - UCLA does not have a home game that weekend.

 

Let's say they did move the dates a couple of weeks and it was held in the US.

If it was earlier they wouldn't have enough prep time, but could use a variety of stadiums.

If they hold it two weeks later then we're talking about colder weather (southern venues would be priority) and american football is in full swing.

There are so many factors involved that one posting cannot exam all possibilities.

Afterthought: doubleheaders with MLS teams?

 

What to do now Sept 23 to October 11?

Doubleheaders with MLS might work--given that if the tournament goes to the USA (and it's not official) it could be the case, though on paper it would be better to schedule them in doubleheaders like it was in 1999.

I'll add Spartan to the list, even though it will be taken by SJSU at that time--the Bay Area is the hotbed for such an event. Stanford is definitely out.

Although, I would rather see it go to Australia since they tried to get the tournament earlier. If it goes to the USA, that's good as well though the "hype" would be hard to duplicate. Also now whoever gets it will have 3-4 months to prepare instead of the 4-5 years it takes to plan logistics.

As for the Final, I would guess place it at the Home Depot Center or maybe have it in New Jersey or Foxboro but that's hypothetical. The Rose Bowl would be nice, but again, it might be hard to duplicate.

If it does go to the USA, television will be good given that the games will be shown in the afternoon/evening despite the schedule clog with baseball, football, etc.

Cheers!

 

Re: What to do now Sept 23 to October 11?

Great insight!

Thinking further on this; during group play most games will be held on weekdays as doubleheaders. Then one game for each team would be on a weekend as a doubleheader/tripleheader with MLS. But, no american football lines would be tolerated. Also, would the games be during the day or night? - the tourney would be during the school year and not like the last WWC which was during summer when the kids have no school and the US has a lot of free time.

As much as I want it to happen in the US (because of travel cost), I do have a soft spot for Australia and would not complain if they got it - they deserve it.

TV would be an interesting story. If the games are held during the day, then ABC/ESPN could run the games. Night games would be hard to televise because of MLB playoffs and the TV season startup.

Scenarios:
Most games played during the week.
Possibility of many night games.
Schedule of games could be determined by TV.
Group play at small stadia.
Semis and final at large stadia on a Saturday with no college or pro NFL team playing there for two weeks.

 

Remember, every college or NFL stadium is open half the time - teams do play on the road. Plus many games would be played weekdays.

If the Cup comes to the US, you may see a "regional" type of venue. For example, U of M stadium might be a primary site (they just put in new grass!) but if it's not available for one of the dates required, they might move that game to MSU or Columbus.

Certainly not the most desirable scheduling - but then, the most desirable option would have been to not need to move it out of China.

 

CANCEL THE FOOTBALL GAMES

 

My Humble Opinion

I think FIFA will switch the games to the US. I'm sure they would like to give women's soccer another shot in the arm and maybe help the premier women's league in the world along the way, by staging the games in The US. The SAR's thing gives FIFA a great excuse to return the games to the country which came out in droves to watch the last one and that means $$$$. They will be very wary of having the games in Australia where the Olympic soccer games had low attendances and probably cost FIFA money.

Who else but the US could put on such an event at such short notice and guarantee good crowds and pretty good media attention. It doesn't matter about the other sports that are going on (other than venue problems) their fan's probably wouldn't watch a women's soccer game anyway. Although it might affect TV coverage. Maybe Fox Sports World might jump in.

 

Soldier Field... oops, do the Bears still play football??

Seriously -
If the quarters, semis, and final are played in mid to late October a southern venue has to be chosen because the weather would be "cold", windy, gray, and probably rainy in the north.

However, Soldier Field wouldn't be able to host until after 9-29 and then a few days after a football game so the turf can return to normal. There are not many reknowned stadiums that don't do double duty with any combo of NFL, MLS, MLB, and college football. What happened to the "white elephant" stadiums?

Possibilities:
Crew Stadium
RFK
The Depot
Soldier Field (maybe)
Rose Bowl
Lockhart
Silverdome (with real grass)

 

Re: Re: WWC in the USA? What stadiums?

Even so, come September, there will be gridiron lines in Lockhart, SF, and RB. The trick is to chalk them lightly and don't go overboard on numbers or logos that are difficult to erase. It can be done, but I'd rather see it in Brazil. Another American WWC after '99 is too soon IMO.

 

Re: Re: Re: WWC in the USA? What stadiums?

i think everyone would like to see another country have it but the facts remain that there are only a few places you could "throw the WWC" together at the relative last minute and be a success...and the united states is one of those places.

as i stated on another thread:

why not put the games as double-headers in; rfk, columbus, cotton bowl, and out at the home depot. that spreads them around for an east, midwest, south, and west regional affairs. then they hold the semi's at rfk and the cotton bowl, and the final out at the rose bowl again. seems to make the most sense. it would not be that hard and you would average probably 20,000 for the games and a final including the united states would easily sell out the rose bowl again...

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: WWC in the USA? What stadiums?

You're right in that only a slelect few countries could put together a WC in a few months. I wonder if Australia has a contigent plan since they made their comments a month ago about being a backup host.

I would like to see another country get it too. If we held it again, could there be a "burnout" factor involved with Americans? (3 WCs in 9 years, and 1 Olympics)

Even though the US and Aus stepped forward, FIFA could take the step to ask other countries. This allows them to exhaust all possibilities.

Determining factors:
moderate climate
ease of stadium availability
immediate financial and sponsor support
immediate fan support
technical abilities (TV, satellite, computer)
logistics (travel, scheduling)
safety
experience of World events

Besides the US and Aus I could see Japan and/or Korea, Spain/Portugal, Italy, and Brazil (as an outsider).

 

Birmingham, AL hosted the Olympics...why not the women's world cup? USA women are playing England here in two weeks. I'd love to see it here.

 

Australia may be 30 spots lower than the USA (senior mens) however we play both codes of rugby and soccer therefore is instantly catered for in big stadiums in Australia. I mean in Brisbane alone we have 2 40000 stadiums Sydney have more than that. Melbourne have 2 Adelaide have 1 and Perth have 1 which some of them don't have large capacity most can cater for around 30000 people so therefore many people who stated that Australia were suitable to host are correct due to:

1) Facilities
2) Proximity to china otherwise it wouldn't be fair
3) Soccer Australia already knew as soon as SARS broke out in China that it would be moved. Which means Soccer Australia have submitted a "fall-back" plan to FIFA.
4) Australia is a beautiful country
5) The USA has held it before in not so suitable stadia.