United States 2022 FIFA World Cup bid

Main article: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids
United States 2022 FIFA World Cup bid logo

The United States Soccer Federation submitted a bid[1] with the hope of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. U.S. Soccer first said in February 2007 that it would put forth a bid for the 2018 World Cup.[1] On January 28, 2009, U.S. Soccer announced that it would submit bids for both the 2018 and 2022 Cups.[2] In October 2010 it withdrew from the 2018 bid process to focus on winning the 2022 edition.[3] On December 2, 2010, it was announced that Qatar would be the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[4]

David Downs, president of Univision Sports, was executive director of the bid.[5] The United States previously hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1994, as well as the FIFA Women's World Cup in 1999 and 2003.

Schedule

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Date Notes
January 15, 2009 Applications formally invited
February 2, 2009 Closing date for registering intention to bid
March 16, 2009 Deadline to submit completed bid registration forms
May 14, 2010 Deadline for submission of full details of bid
September 6–9, 2010 Inspection committee visits the United States[6]
December 2, 2010 FIFA to appoint hosts for 2018 and 2022 World Cups

Bid committee

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U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati was the Bid Committee Chairman.

The American bid was being organized by USA Bid Committee, Inc.

The executive director of the bid was David Downs, CEO of Univision sports. Other members include U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, Phil Murphy, the former national finance chair for the Democratic National Committee,[7] former U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Clinton adviser Douglas Band,[8] film director Spike Lee,[9] former boxer Oscar De La Hoya, and Washington Post.[10][11]

Details of the bid

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See also: List of soccer stadiums in the United States

In April 2009, the U.S. identified 70 stadiums in 50 communities as possible venues for the tournament, with 58 confirming their interest.[12] The list of stadiums was trimmed two months later to 38 existing venues, one scheduled for completion in 2010, and one proposed venue.[10] On August 20, 2009, the list was further trimmed down to 32 stadiums in 27 cities.[13] On January 12, 2010, the USA Bid Committee narrowed the 27 cities down to 18 as the official host cities for the United States' Bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.[14]

Those 18 cities were: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C. The 18 stadiums selected host NFL or NCAA American football games, with a capacity over 65,000 spectators. No soccer-specific stadium was selected, since none in the country has capacity for more than 30,000 spectators.

Candidate venues

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Image Stadium Capacity City State Surface Home teams Notes
Rose Bowl 94,542 Pasadena
(Host City: Los Angeles) 		 California Grass UCLA Bruins†
Rose Bowl Game 		1994 World Cup final venue
1999 Women's World Cup final venue
CONCACAF Gold Cup venue

Super Bowl XI, Super Bowl XIV, Super Bowl XVII, Super Bowl XXI, and Super Bowl XXVII Hosts
Three BCS National Championship Games
May be superseded by SoFi Stadium[15]


Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 93,607 Los Angeles  California Grass USC Trojans† 1932 and 1984 Olympic stadium
CONCACAF Gold Cup venue

Super Bowl I and Super Bowl VII host
1959 World Series
May be superseded by SoFi Stadium[15]


AT&T Stadium * 91,600 Arlington
(Host City: Dallas) 		 Texas Matrix artificial turf Cowboys Classic
Dallas Cowboys†
Cotton Bowl Classic
Southwest Classic 		Opened in 2009
Retractable roof
CONCACAF Gold Cup venue

2010 NBA All-Star Game venue
Super Bowl XLV in 2011 Wrestlemania 32 in 2016


FedExField 91,704 Landover
(Host City: Washington, D.C.) 		 Maryland Grass Washington Redskins† 1999 Women's World Cup venue


MetLife Stadium * 82,566 East Rutherford
(Host City: New York City) 		 New Jersey FieldTurf New York Giants†

New York Jets†

Opened in 2010
Hosted Super Bowl XLVIII
Wrestlemania XXIX


Sun Life Stadium * 80,240 Miami Gardens
(Host City: Miami) 		 Florida Grass Miami Dolphins†
Miami Hurricanes†
Orange Bowl 		Multi-purpose stadium
Marlins moved to their new ballpark and it was also host to WWE's WrestleMania XXVIII in 2012
Super Bowl XXIII, Super Bowl XXIX, Super Bowl XXXIII, Super Bowl XLI, and Super Bowl XLIV hosts
Three BCS National Championship Games


Reliant Stadium * 76,000 Houston  Texas Grass Houston Texans†
Texas Bowl 		CONCACAF Gold Cup venue, 2010 MLS All-Star Game host, WrestleMania XXV hosts, NCAA Final Four 2011 & 2016 host, Super Bowl XXXVIII host,
Retractable roof


Arrowhead Stadium * 75,364 Kansas City  Missouri Grass Kansas City Chiefs†  


Invesco Field at Mile High 75,165 Denver  Colorado Grass Denver Broncos† 2008 Democratic National Convention Host
2006 National Football League AFC Championship Game


Raymond James Stadium 75,000 Tampa  Florida Grass Tampa Bay Buccaneers†
South Florida Bulls†
Outback Bowl 		Olympic qualifying venue.

Super Bowl XXXV and Super Bowl XLIII hosts
WrestleMania 36 original host


Gillette Stadium * 73,393 Foxborough
(Host City: Boston) 		 Massachusetts FieldTurf New England Patriots†
New England Revolution 		NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship in 2008 and 2009, 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup venue, and the MLS Cup 2002


Husky Stadium 72,500 Seattle Washington (state) Washington FieldTurf Washington Huskies† Renovation completed in 2013. Track was removed but capacity decreased from 72,500 to 70,138.
1990 Goodwill Games track and field events.


University of Phoenix Stadium 71,362 Glendale
(Host City: Phoenix) 		 Arizona Grass Arizona Cardinals†
Fiesta Bowl 		Retractable roof and playing surface
CONCACAF Gold Cup venue
Super Bowl XLII hosts
WrestleMania XXVI hosts

Three BCS National Championship Games


Georgia Dome 71,228 Atlanta Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia FieldTurf & able to install grass. Atlanta Falcons†
Georgia State Panthers†
Chick-fil-A Bowl 		Indoor stadium
Super Bowl XXXIV & Super Bowl XXVIII hosts
World Football Challenge hosts
Indoor Stadium, DCI Atlanta Southeastern Championship 1996 Summer Olympics World Football Challenge
WrestleMania XXVII hosts
Demolished in 2017 following the opening of Mercedes-Benz Stadium


M&T Bank Stadium 71,008 Baltimore  Maryland Sportexe Momentum Turf Baltimore Ravens†
Only stadium to sell out their World Football Challenge game


Lincoln Financial Field * 69,111 Philadelphia  Pennsylvania Grass Philadelphia Eagles†
Temple Owls†
Army-Navy Game 		2003 Women's World Cup venue
CONCACAF Gold Cup venue.


LP Field 69,143 Nashville  Tennessee Grass Tennessee Titans†
Tennessee State Tigers†
Music City Bowl 		Olympic qualifying venue


CenturyLink Field * 68,056 Seattle Washington (state) Washington FieldTurf Seattle Seahawks†
Seattle Sounders FC 		CONCACAF Gold Cup venue
MLS Cup 2009 venue, Highest home attendance in MLS


Qualcomm Stadium 67,700 San Diego  California Grass San Diego Chargers†
Holiday Bowl
Poinsettia Bowl 		CONCACAF Gold Cup venue
Super Bowl XXII, Super Bowl XXXII, and Super Bowl XXXVII Hosts
Demolished in 2021 and replaced by Snapdragon Stadium


Lucas Oil Stadium 66,500 Indianapolis  Indiana FieldTurf Indianapolis Colts† Built in 2008
Retractable roof
Super Bowl XLVI in 2012,
NCAA men's basketball Final Four in 2010 and 2015,
NCAA women's basketball Final Four in 2016,
DCI World Championship Finals Since 2009
NCAA men's basketball final in 2021


  • * – Stadium that would go on to be used in the 2026 FIFA World Cup
  • † – American football team.
  • Although sponsored stadium names are listed in this article, they were not used in the actual bid documents, and would not be used during the World Cup. FIFA controls all naming rights related to the World Cup, and generally prohibits the use of such names. Even stadiums that bear the names of FIFA sponsors are subject to this restriction—the venue then known commercially as Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg was known by its non-commercial name of Ellis Park Stadium during the 2010 World Cup, even though The Coca-Cola Company is one of FIFA's main sponsors.
  • Capacities listed are estimated capacity for the FIFA World Cup.[14]

Rejected venues

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The following venues were considered as possible candidate venues but were not chosen to be included in the final bid.[14]

Image Stadium Capacity City State Surface Home teams Notes
Michigan Stadium 109,901 Ann Arbor  Michigan Artificial Michigan Wolverines† Largest non-motorsports stadium in the country, and third-largest non-racing stadium in the world.


Jacksonville Municipal Stadium[a] 77,000 Jacksonville  Florida Grass Jacksonville Jaguars†
Gator Bowl
Super Bowl XXXIX hosts


Bank of America Stadium 73,500 Charlotte  North Carolina Grass Carolina Panthers†
Belk Bowl
ACC Championship Game 		1999 and 2000 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship venue, 2014 and 2015 International Champions Cup, 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup


Cleveland Browns Stadium[b] 73,200 Cleveland  Ohio Grass Cleveland Browns† Hosted International Matches


Edward Jones Dome[c] 67,268 St. Louis  Missouri FieldTurf St. Louis Rams[d] Indoor stadium


Ford Field 67,188 Detroit  Michigan FieldTurf Detroit Lions†
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl[e] 		Super Bowl XL hosts
WrestleMania 23 hosts
Indoor stadium


Citrus Bowl[f] 65,616 Orlando  Florida Grass Florida Tuskers†
Capital One Bowl[g]
Champs Sports Bowl[h] 		1994 FIFA World Cup, 1996 Olympics
and WrestleMania XXIV venue.


O.co Coliseum[i] 63,026 Oakland  California Grass Oakland Raiders†
Oakland A's‡ 		Multi-purpose stadium.


Soldier Field 61,000 Chicago  Illinois Grass Chicago Bears† 1994 FIFA World Cup venue.


Stanford Stadium 50,500 Palo Alto  California Grass Stanford Cardinal† Rebuilt 1984 Olympics,
1994 FIFA World Cup and 1999 Women's World Cup venue


RFK Stadium 45,600 Washington  District of Columbia Grass D.C. United[j]
EagleBank Bowl[k] 		1994 FIFA World Cup and 1996 Olympics venue


  1. ^ Now known as TIAA Bank Field.
  2. ^ Now known as FirstEnergy Stadium.
  3. ^ Now known as The Dome at America's Center.
  4. ^ The Rams returned to their previous home of Los Angeles after the 2015 NFL season, and the stadium has had no major sports tenant since then.
  5. ^ The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl folded after its 2013 edition and was replaced by the Quick Lane Bowl, also held at Ford Field.
  6. ^ Now known as Camping World Stadium.
  7. ^ Now known as the Citrus Bowl.
  8. ^ Now known as the Camping World Bowl.
  9. ^ Now known by its historic name of Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum.
  10. ^ D.C. United moved to Audi Field, also in Washington, in 2018.
  11. ^ Now known as the Military Bowl, and played at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland since 2013.

August 2009 cut

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The following stadiums were eliminated in an earlier cut in August 2009

Image Stadium Capacity City State Surface Home teams Events Hosted
Legion Field 71,594 Birmingham  Alabama Artificial UAB Blazers†
Papajohns.com Bowl[a] 		1996 Olympics


Ohio Stadium 102,329 Columbus  Ohio Artificial Ohio State Buckeyes† On National Register of Historic Places


Neyland Stadium 102,455 Knoxville  Tennessee Grass Tennessee Volunteers† Ranked as America's No. 1 college football stadium by The Sporting News in 2001


Metrodome 64,111 Minneapolis  Minnesota Artificial Minnesota Vikings† 1985 MLB All-Star Game
Super Bowl XXVI
1992 and 2001 Final Four
1987 and 1991 World Series venue. Demolished in 2014 and replaced on-site in 2016 by U.S. Bank Stadium.


TCF Bank Stadium 50,805 Minneapolis  Minnesota Artificial Minnesota Golden Gophers†[b] One of three new Minneapolis stadiums (along with Target Field and U.S. Bank Stadium)


Sun Devil Stadium 73,379 Tempe  Arizona Grass Arizona State Sun Devils†
Insight Bowl[c] 		Super Bowl XXX
former Fiesta Bowl venue


Heinz Field 65,050 Pittsburgh  Pennsylvania Grass Pittsburgh Steelers†
Pittsburgh Panthers† 		2011 NHL Winter Classic


Rice-Eccles Stadium 45,017 Salt Lake City  Utah Artificial Utah Utes† 2002 Winter Olympics opening/closing venue


Alamodome 65,000 San Antonio  Texas Artificial Alamo Bowl
Later became home to UTSA Roadrunners† 		1998, 2004
and 2008 Final Four venue
U.S. Army All-American Bowl


Las Vegas Stadium Proposed[d] Las Vegas  Nevada Proposed None Proposed


  1. ^ Now known as the Birmingham Bowl.
  2. ^ TCF Bank Stadium also went on to serve as home of Minnesota United FC during that team's first two seasons in Major League Soccer (2017–2018).
  3. ^ Now known as the Cactus Bowl, and since 2016 played at Chase Field in Phoenix.
  4. ^ The stadium project ultimately materialized in the mid-2010s, with construction starting in late 2017. The stadium will be home to the relocated Oakland Raiders and the UNLV Rebels football team.

June 2009 cut

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The following stadiums were eliminated in an earlier cut in June 2009

Image Stadium Capacity City State Surface Home teams Events Hosted
California Memorial Stadium 71,799 Berkeley  California Artificial California Golden Bears†


Ralph Wilson Stadium 73,079 Orchard Park  New York Artificial Buffalo Bills† 2008 NHL Winter Classic


Memorial Stadium (Champaign) 62,870 Champaign  Illinois Artificial Illinois Fighting Illini† Hone of the Chicago Bears in 2002 while Soldier Field was being renovated


Paul Brown Stadium 65,515 Cincinnati  Ohio Artificial Cincinnati Bengals† Proposed for use in the 2026 World Cup bid


Memorial Stadium (Clemson) 81,500 Clemson  South Carolina Grass Clemson Tigers† Home of Carolina Panthers in their inaugural 1995 season


Faurot Field 71,004 Columbia  Missouri Artificial Missouri Tigers† Third-largest sports facility by seating capacity in the state of Missouri, behind The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis and Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.


Williams-Brice Stadium 80,250 Columbia  South Carolina Grass South Carolina Gamecocks† In 1987, Pope John Paul II, during a Papal visit to Columbia, spoke in front of 60,000 people at the stadium.


Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium 72,000 Fayetteville  Arkansas Grass Arkansas Razorbacks†


Ben Hill Griffin Stadium 88,548 Gainesville  Florida Grass Florida Gators† 1973 Tangerine Bowl and 1994 Gator Bowl venue


Lambeau Field 72,928 Green Bay  Wisconsin Grass Green Bay Packers† Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic


Rice Stadium 70,000 Houston  Texas Artificial Rice Owls† Bluebonnet Bowl 1959-1967, 1985-1986
Houston Oilers 1965-1967
Super Bowl VIII


Kinnick Stadium 70,585 Iowa City  Iowa Artificial Iowa Hawkeyes†


Camp Randall Stadium 80,321 Madison  Wisconsin Artificial Wisconsin Badgers† Culver's Camp Randall Hockey Classic
12 Green Bay Packers exhibition games


Commonwealth Stadium 67,942 Lexington  Kentucky Grass Kentucky Wildcats†


Denied interest in hosting[16]

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Official bid partners

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Notes and references

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  1. ^ a b Goff, Steven (February 20, 2007). "U.S. to Seek World Cup". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 28, 2007.
  2. ^ "U.S. to bid for 2018 and 2022 World Cups". ESPNsoccernet. Chicago. Associated Press. January 29, 2009. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
  3. ^ "US withdraw bid to host 2018 World Cup". BBC Sport. October 15, 2010.
  4. ^ "2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup Hosts Announced". BBC News. December 2, 2010. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  5. ^ Goff, Steve (February 2, 2009). "USA in '18 (or '22)". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 4, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2009.
  6. ^ "FIFA receives bidding documents for 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups" (Press release). FIFA.com. May 14, 2010. Archived from the original on July 29, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  7. ^ Goff, Steve (February 2, 2009). "USA in '18 (or '22)". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 4, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
  8. ^ "Counselor To President Clinton, Douglas Band, Joins Team To Bring FIFA World Cup To United States in 2018 or 2022". U.S. Soccer. April 8, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  9. ^ "Spike Lee joins US World Cup bid committee". USA Today. January 4, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  10. ^ a b "USA Bid Committee Issues Requests For Proposals to 37 Potential FIFA World Cup Host Cities For 2018 or 2022" (Press release). United States Soccer Federation. June 16, 2009. Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  11. ^ Goff, Steven (November 2, 2009). "Weymouth Joins Cup Effort". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
  12. ^ "USA Bid Committee Receives Confirmation From 58 Venues Interested in Holding FIFA World Cup Matches in 2018 or 2022" (Press release). United States Soccer Federation. April 23, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
  13. ^ "USA Bid Committee Announces List of 27 Cities Still in Contention For Inclusion in U.S. Bid to Host FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022" (Press release). United States Soccer Federation. August 20, 2009. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
  14. ^ a b c "Bid Committee announces official bid cities" (Press release). The USA Bid Committee. January 12, 2010. Archived from the original on January 23, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  15. ^ a b Developers of LA's proposed NFL stadium expand plans to lure World Cup Archived November 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Developers of LA's proposed NFL stadium expand plans to lure World Cup
  16. ^ "58 US venues interested in holding FIFA World Cup matches in 2018 or 2022 | Blog | Go USA Bid". www.gousabid.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
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