Cincinnati is one of 23 cities included in the USA/Canada/Mexico United Bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and on Monday, the 530-page "bid book" was released to the public, detailing all that each city has to offer. Here's what Cincinnati highlights:
The Venue
The bid proposes Cincinnati as a possible host through the quarterfinals and/or a third place game, to be played in Paul Brown Stadium, which forecasts a soccer capacity of 60,294. The gross capacity is listed at 67,402, but you lose 7,108 for VIPs and media.
"With an impressive architectural design, the stadium is credited as the third most popular sporting venue in the US," the bid reads, without citation.
The playing field would be 105 meters by 68 meters, and sod would be laid over the existing artificial turf.
Fun fact: There are 880 men's toilets, 867 women's, and 88 accessible toilets.
Team Facilities/Training Sites
UC's Nippert Stadium, FC Cincinnati's future training ground in Mason, and a future FC Cincinnati Major League Soccer stadium are all listed as team basecamp facilities. The bid says the MLS stadium - a location for which remains up in the air - would be completed in 2021 and "will pay homage to the famous Bayern Munich stadium, Allianz Arena, and feature a stand capacity of up to 25,000 individuals."
The University of Cincinnati, Xavier, Northern Kentucky University, and Mount St. Joseph University are included as possible venues to host team practices. Teams and FIFA delegations would stay at The Cincinnatian Hotel (FIFA VIP Hotel), Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza (FIFA Venue Hotel), The Westin Cincinnati, the Renaissance Cincinnati, Embassy Cincinnati RiverCenter, Hyatt Regency Cincinnati, Marriott RiverCenter, and a hotel near Mason that's to be determined.
Even if not selected to host a game, Cincinnati could still serve as a training and/or "base camp" city for a team.
About Town and Fan Fest
The bid highlights Cincinnati's German-Catholic heritage and thriving arts and major league sports, as well at the strong youth soccer community. It boasts that "In just two years, FC Cincinnati of the United Soccer League (USL) has established itself as the next great franchise..."
Of the city, it states, "Cincinnati is a bridge to most of the United States, with more than 60 percent of the country's population within a one-hour flight or a day's drive." Given that fact, the bid lays out two options for Cincinnati to host a Fan Fest, an official watch location with shopping and programming during the World Cup. These feature large outdoor screens so fans can watch World Cup matches and generally participate in the World Cup experience even without a game ticket. The two locations are Sawyer Point/Yeatman's Cove and Freedom Way at The Banks.
The region has 217 top-rated hotel properties - 23,415 rooms - listed as within walking distance of the stadium and entertainment districts.
The USA, Canada and Mexico are jointly bidding for the event. Morroco is also bidding. If the U.S. is selected to host the tournament, FIFA, international soccer's governing body, will choose the final 16 host cities.
You can download the bid book from the tweet below. Beware, clicking the link will begin a 530-page download.
Official bid book for the USA-Mexico-Canada World Cup 2026 bid https://t.co/rWw4G2R0w3 Executive summary https://t.co/Hi75DLKAiN— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) March 26, 2018
Possible Host Cities: by seating capacity and number of toilets
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