2026 FIFA World Cup (USA/Mexico/Canada)

[spartacat_12]

On 6/18/2022 at 3:21 PM, GDAWG said:

The North America World Cup bid doesn't have to worry about white elephants with their stadiums when it's over with.  2 MLS stadiums, 3 Liga MX stadiums and 11 NFL stadiums. Some countries have no idea as to what to do with their stadiums after their World Cups end because a lot of them were built largely for the World Cup.  That's not a problem at all for these stadiums.  We know what happens to these stadiums once the 2026 FIFA World Cup ends.  To be honest I find that to be boring as the unknown fate of venues after a World Cup and Olympics is what intrigues me the most.  

 

Toronto has announced that they will be adding seating to BMO Field in order to meet FIFA's minimum capacity requirements. It is going to go from 30,000 to just over 45,000, with the extra seats being added behind the goals. They've said these will be temporary, but they're leaving the door open to making them permanent if TFC thinks it's worth keeping them around.

 

 

There's currently a new subway line planned for Toronto that will have Exhibition Place/BMO as one of the terminuses, but unfortunately it isn't supposed to be done until 2030.

[MJWalker45]

18 hours ago, GDAWG said:

I heard here locally on the radio that one team that will likely be affected by the 2026 World Cup games at the "House that Jerry Built" will be the MLB team the Texas Rangers.  Both their old stadium (which is now multipurpose use for football, rugby, soccer) and their new stadium are across the street from AT&T Stadium, so it will be hard to imagine any Rangers home games at the same time as the 2026 FIFA World Cup, at least in the group stages.  One of the hosts thinks it will result in the Rangers going on the road for a week or two.  On the rare occasions that the Cowboys and Rangers are playing at home on the same day (albeit at different times, especially if the Rangers have a mid afternoon game on Sunday and the Cowboys play on Sunday Night across the street) that area tends to get way too crowded.  

The Spurs do that for around 20 days every February due to the SA Rodeo being held at AT&T/Freeman Coliseum, so the Rangers shouldn't have too many issues. At least with the dome they don't have to worry about rainouts at home. At least Houston won't be dealing with the same problem. 

[WestCoastBias]

Chicago not bidding was a huge disappointment and really screwed the Midwest. Boston seems like an odd choice too given that the stadium isn't really in an urban area like the other stadiums outside their main cities, besides Kansas City I guess. 

 

I kind of wish this World Cup was hosted solely by the United States so more cities could have games, even though I do think it's cool we're hosting with Canada and Mexico. Here's the cities I'd go with if only the US was hosting and it was a perfect world where Dan Snyder wasn't the owner of the Commanders. 

 

Atlanta

Chicago

Cincinnati 

Dallas 

Denver

Houston

Kansas City

Los Angeles

Miami

New York

Philadelphia (thought about Las Vegas instead and maybe Minneapolis if their stadium wasn't a dome, went with the larger population though)

Phoenix 

San Francisco

Seattle

Tampa (or Orlando, doesn't really matter I guess just figured that Tampa's stadium is better)

Washington (new stadium at the RFK site)

[goalieboy82]

On 6/20/2022 at 1:23 PM, spartacat_12 said:

 

Toronto has announced that they will be adding seating to BMO Field in order to meet FIFA's minimum capacity requirements. It is going to go from 30,000 to just over 45,000, with the extra seats being added behind the goals. They've said these will be temporary, but they're leaving the door open to making them permanent if TFC thinks it's worth keeping them around.

 

 

There's currently a new subway line planned for Toronto that will have Exhibition Place/BMO as one of the terminuses, but unfortunately it isn't supposed to be done until 2030.

could always have this:

 

[goalieboy82]

Just now, goalieboy82 said:

could always have this:

 

was there back in 2017 and i quoted that a lot when i was look around the place (even got my picture taken in front the Arc de Full Retreat.

[Red Comet]

On 6/20/2022 at 12:23 PM, spartacat_12 said:

 

Toronto has announced that they will be adding seating to BMO Field in order to meet FIFA's minimum capacity requirements. It is going to go from 30,000 to just over 45,000, with the extra seats being added behind the goals. They've said these will be temporary, but they're leaving the door open to making them permanent if TFC thinks it's worth keeping them around.

 

 

There's currently a new subway line planned for Toronto that will have Exhibition Place/BMO as one of the terminuses, but unfortunately it isn't supposed to be done until 2030.

Holy hell, that sightline looks horrible for a 30,000 seat stadium. I’ve been closer to the field from the upper deck at Arrowhead than this.

So they demolished Exhibition Stadium, and wound up creating a more compact Exhibition Stadium. 

Edited June 23, 2022 by Red Comet

[Digby]

42 minutes ago, Red Comet said:

Holy hell, that sightline looks horrible for a 30,000 seat stadium. I’ve been closer to the field from the upper deck at Arrowhead than this.

 

 

The incrementalist approach BMO Field has taken to expanding is probably good and sustainable financially but has done it no favors in terms of venue quality. The existing tacked-on upper deck is bad enough, the temporary seats look substantially worse still.

[DEAD!]

 

It could not be any worse than this monstrosity

 

I think BMO field had previously had temporary seating at the south end in 2016 for the Grey Cup.  So it wasn't without precedent.  I am more intrigued  how the north end will end up looking like. Maybe it will end up looking different in four years?  

[MJWalker45]

18 hours ago, DEAD! said:

 

It could not be any worse than this monstrosity

 

I think BMO field had previously had temporary seating at the south end in 2016 for the Grey Cup.  So it wasn't without precedent.  I am more intrigued  how the north end will end up looking like. Maybe it will end up looking different in four years?  

I want to say I can't believe FIFA signed off on this, but it makes total sense that they signed off on this. 

[Jer15]

On 6/22/2022 at 8:49 PM, Digby said:

 

The incrementalist approach BMO Field has taken to expanding is probably good and sustainable financially but has done it no favors in terms of venue quality

You arent wrong. Of course MLSE never thought that soccer would take off as it has and they've been adjusting on the fly ever since. It's so telling in the TFC dressing room which is actually multiple rooms. 

On 6/22/2022 at 9:33 PM, DEAD! said:

 

I think BMO field had previously had temporary seating at the south end in 2016 for the Grey Cup.

And they ended up hosting MLS cup that year too so the stands stayed for that game. They've also use temp seating for thr outdoor NHL game.

I've sat just about everywhere in that stadium for all sorts of events. The upper bowl view is fine not great. I'm skeptical of the south end view because of the roof. I have to imagine there will be restricted view seating.

 

On 6/22/2022 at 8:03 PM, Red Comet said:

So they demolished Exhibition Stadium, and wound up creating a more compact Exhibition Stadium

Lol yup.

I mean I was young when they knocked it down but what i recall the old Exhibition Stadium felt like a big version of a grandstand at a town's fall fairgrounds. It was bad. 

 

 

[MJWalker45]

https://www.espn.com/soccer/spanish-laliga/story/4689879/laliga-games-to-be-played-in-us-before-2026-world-cup-marketing-chief

La Liga chief says they want to play league games in the US ahead of the 2026 World Cup. They tried having a Barcelona away game moved to Miami a few years ago.  I don't like that idea even if the games sell out. 

[DEAD!]

9 hours ago, Jer15 said:

 

Lol yup.

I mean I was young when they knocked it down but what i recall the old Exhibition Stadium felt like a big version of a grandstand at a town's fall fairgrounds. It was bad. 

 

 

Felt like? It WAS a big version of a grandstand at town's fairgrounds... and it was on the NORTH side of the stadium

 

[BrySmalls]

I am glad that DC and Baltimore weren't selected to host World Cup matches. 

[GriffinM6]

I am super excited to see Atlanta get selected as a host. I plan to be living abroad by 2026, but I will definitely make the trip home to watch the WC in my backyard. Started saving up my money as soon as the announcement was made. 

[Jer15]

On 6/24/2022 at 4:05 PM, DEAD! said:

Felt like? It WAS a big version of a grandstand at town's fairgrounds... and it was on the NORTH side of the stadium

 

Lol, fair!

 

Yeah I don't recall that specifically (the north side)  but I have read about that. Makes no sense at all to me now. Hindsight and all that.

[MJWalker45]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67010609

The 2030 World Cup will literally be a global event:

 

Spain, Portugal and Morocco have been named as the co-hosts, with the opening three matches taking place in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.

The opening matches in South America are to mark the World Cup's centenary as it will be 100 years since the inaugural tournament in Montevideo.

 

I can understand wanting to give South America their due, but this isn't the way to do it. I'm guessing that the amount of work needed to get a lot of the stadiums in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay up to snuff played a role in this as well. Also of note is that Morocco replaced Ukraine. 

[BrySmalls]

With the 2030 World Cup being played on 3 continents, this almost assures that the 2034 World Cup will be played in Asia. Rumors have it that Saudi Arabia is pretty much a lock for that tournament.

[MJWalker45]

2 hours ago, BrySmalls said:

With the 2030 World Cup being played on 3 continents, this almost assures that the 2034 World Cup will be played in the Asia. Rumors have it that Saudi Arabia is pretty much a lock for that tournament.

I'd say it's between them and China, but then FIFA might just hand 2038 to China and pretend they are two separate continents since Saudi Arabia is in CAF, and China is in AFC. 

[BrySmalls]

16 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

I'd say it's between them and China, but then FIFA might just hand 2038 to China and pretend they are two separate continents since Saudi Arabia is in CAF, and China is in AFC. 

 

Here's a simple solution to subverting the Asian continent conundrum: Put the 2038 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand! If the Women's competition was hosted there, then those two countries can host the Men's competition.

[McCall]

18 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

I'd say it's between them and China, but then FIFA might just hand 2038 to China and pretend they are two separate continents since Saudi Arabia is in CAF, and China is in AFC. 

I looked it up and it says Saudi Arabia is in AFC.