 |
|||||
|
|||||
|
Gillette Stadium was one of 70 venues contacted by US officials. |
Last week, the committee mailed letters to public officials and stadium operators in more than 50 metropolitan markets across the United States. The Foxboro area is no stranger to World Cups. The old Foxboro Stadium was one of nine venues to host the World Cup in 1994.
“We will soon begin discussions with officials from throughout the U.S. in the name of presenting a world class proposal to FIFA and the global soccer community,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati.
FIFA calls for each bidding nation to propose a minimum of 12 stadiums, each capable of seating 40,000 or more spectators. Stadiums with a minimum capacity of 80,000 are required to host the Opening Match and Final Match. Out of the 70 stadiums under consideration, more than 65 have a capacity above 60,000, and more than 20 have a capacity above 80,000. Gillette currently seats 65,756.
In 1994, nine U.S. stadiums were used when the United States played host to FIFA World Cup, which then featured a 24-team and 52-match format compared to today’s field of 32 nations competing in 64 matches. Despite the smaller field and schedule of matches in 1994, the United States set an overall attendance mark of 3,587,538, a record that broke the previous tournament mark by more than one million fans and still stands today.
The deadline for the USA Bid Committee to hear from officials representing candidate markets and venues is Friday, April 17.
Blink
Del.icio.us
Digg
Furl
Google
Simpy
Spurl
Technorati
Y! MyWebReturn to top