DJ V Lawrence Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id...850&cc=5901Apparantly, Brazil's the runaway favorite to represent South America as the host of 2014's World Cup. However, there's a good chance that Brazil may not make the grade. If Brazil is chosen not to be hosts in 2014, the likely hosts would be either Mexico or the United States. If in the United States, Houston may have a major chance at playing a host, which would be the biggest sporting event Houston's ever hosted. Just about every game in the World Cup has a bigger t.v. audience than the Super Bowl. Should Brazil not make it, watch for a major sales pitch from H-Town for some of the higher-round games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDeb Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Is Reliant Stadium a good venue for soccer? That would be awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westguy76 Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Is Reliant Stadium a good venue for soccer? That would be awesome.It sure is that would be awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston1stWordOnTheMoon Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Would be a nice PR and money making venture for the city if we could get it here!!! Im all for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ V Lawrence Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 Is Reliant Stadium a good venue for soccer? That would be awesome.If the Cup were in Houston, Reliant Stadium is the only stadium in Houston that would qualify to host. In fact, the reason why Houston has a chance is because of Reliant Stadium. It's huge, has natural grass, and has a good track record so far when it comes to hosting major sporting events and major soccer matches. What I'm curious about if this: if the U.S. were to host the World Cup, what role would MLS stadiums play? All the soccer-specific stadiums in America are no bigger than 25,000 seats. There's no way FIFA would want to downgrade down to less than a 40,000 seat stadium. I would imagine what they did in 1994 will football stadiums again, but would expect a bigger public frenzy from the American media. I think not only could Houston make a pitch to host, but perhaps Houston could make a pitch to host the World Cup Final itself? Every stadium to host the last World Cup match is considered legendary; Reliant Park on that list would be huge for H-Town. We'd also have the Downtown Park to use as our World Cup party area. Does Houston have a chance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston1stWordOnTheMoon Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 We'd also have the Downtown Park to use as our World Cup party area. Does Houston have a chance?I think so, but remember a big complaint with the Essence Festival was the distance of Reliant from dwntwn. We will have to get transportation issues under control. Hopefully those complaints didnt fall on deaf ears and the city has learned from it in order to better possible future events such as this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ V Lawrence Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 I think so, but remember a big complaint with the Essence Festival was the distance of Reliant from dwntwn. We will have to get transportation issues under control. Hopefully those complaints didnt fall on deaf ears and the city has learned from it in order to better possible future events such as this.The distance isn't an issue at all. I was in Korea (Army) during the 2002 World Cup, and all the designated World Cup central spots in each city were nowhere near the stadium. Seoul alone had a party spot for 16 of the 32 countries, including the 10-Million-person party for their home team downtown. So long as Houston has a huge park or pedestrian shopping and bar-area downtown, we'd be straight. And we'd have that with the Downtown Park, Pavillions, and Main Street (same style as the Main Event in Super Bowl 2004). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDeb Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 If the Cup were in Houston, Reliant Stadium is the only stadium in Houston that would qualify to host. In fact, the reason why Houston has a chance is because of Reliant Stadium. It's huge, has natural grass, and has a good track record so far when it comes to hosting major sporting events and major soccer matches. What I'm curious about if this: if the U.S. were to host the World Cup, what role would MLS stadiums play? All the soccer-specific stadiums in America are no bigger than 25,000 seats. There's no way FIFA would want to downgrade down to less than a 40,000 seat stadium. I would imagine what they did in 1994 will football stadiums again, but would expect a bigger public frenzy from the American media. I think not only could Houston make a pitch to host, but perhaps Houston could make a pitch to host the World Cup Final itself? Every stadium to host the last World Cup match is considered legendary; Reliant Park on that list would be huge for H-Town. We'd also have the Downtown Park to use as our World Cup party area. Does Houston have a chance?I think the issue will probably come down to stadium size. FIFA is going to want to pack as many people in there as possible. The 1994 final was at the Rose Bowl, which seats 92K compared to Reliant's 70K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ V Lawrence Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 I think the issue will probably come down to stadium size. FIFA is going to want to pack as many people in there as possible. The 1994 final was at the Rose Bowl, which seats 92K compared to Reliant's 70K.Good point. Think Rose Bowl would host the last game again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDeb Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Good point. Think Rose Bowl would host the last game again?If FIFA doesn't have any qualms about putting it in the same place twice, I'd have to say that Southern California would probably be their top choice. If they wanted to do East Coast, Fed Ex Field (91k) and Giants Stadium (80K) would probably be their best choices.I certainly think Reliant would be a great spot for a late round game, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ V Lawrence Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 If FIFA doesn't have any qualms about putting it in the same place twice, I'd have to say that Southern California would probably be their top choice. If they wanted to do East Coast, Fed Ex Field (91k) and Giants Stadium (80K) would probably be their best choices.I certainly think Reliant would be a great spot for a late round game, though.What about colleges like UT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkjones98 Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 Is Reliant Stadium a good venue for soccer? That would be awesome.I saw Club America play F.C. Barcelona in Reliant. It was amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalparadise Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 ZZZZZZZZZ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ V Lawrence Posted December 17, 2006 Author Share Posted December 17, 2006 I saw Club America play F.C. Barcelona in Reliant. It was amazing.That was NUTS!!! Best game I've ever been to! That's coming from a dude that's been to Rockets, Astros, Dynamo and Texans games. Barcelona's got some NAD skill on them. 3 goals in 5 minutes?! That was insane!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 Well in 2014, Dallas will have its new stadium, so they might be considered. The Arizona Cardinals, too. Los Angeles is a done deal, too. I think Houston would be included in the list of hosts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ V Lawrence Posted December 17, 2006 Author Share Posted December 17, 2006 Well in 2014, Dallas will have its new stadium, so they might be considered. The Arizona Cardinals, too. Los Angeles is a done deal, too. I think Houston would be included in the list of hosts. I hope so. Question is this though; What are the chances that Houston AND Dallas would both get to host World Cup games? There's a good chance that USOC would do everything to avoid the games from having two host cities in the same state that's not California It will be a dogfight between all the cities with new 70,000+ stadiums before 2014, and the final would probably be held by a stadium newer than 2010. My opinion 15 cities that could be fighting to be one of the elite eight: Houston- Reliant Stadium Dallas - New Cowboys Stadium Glendale, Arizona - Univ. of Phoenix / Cardinals Stadium Los Angeles - Hollywood Bowl Pasedena, California - Rose Bowl Stadium Silicon Valley - New 49ers Stadium or New Athletics/MLS stadium Chicago - Soilder Field (Bears) Philidelphia - Lincoln Financial Field / (Eagles) Seattle - Qwest Field/ (Seahawks) New York/New Jersey - New Giants/Jets Stadium Tampa Bay - Raymond James Stadium (Buccaneers) Washington D.C. - Fed Ex Field (Redskins) Denver - Mile High Stadium (Broncos) Foxboro, Mass - Gillette Stadium (NE Patriots and NE Revolution) Cleveland or Cincinati - Paul Brown or Cleveland Stadium (Bengals or Browns) 10 Possible Finals and Semifinal cities: Houston Dallas Glendale, Ariz. Chicago Washington D.C. Rutherford, New Jersey Philidelphia Los Angeles Pasedena, Cali Foxboro, Mass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 Well these cities don't really have the greatest chance to me:Denver - Mile High Stadium (Broncos)Seattle - Qwest Field/ (Seahawks)Tampa Bay - Raymond James Stadium (Buccaneers)Denver's Mile High could affect some of the soccer players. Seattle is way too rainy. Tampa Bay is overrated and too small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark F. Barnes Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 I hope so. Question is this though; What are the chances that Houston AND Dallas would both get to host World Cup games? There's a good chance that USOC would do everything to avoid the games from having two host cities in the same state that's not California It will be a dogfight between all the cities with new 70,000+ stadiums before 2014, and the final would probably be held by a stadium newer than 2010. My opinion 15 cities that could be fighting to be one of the elite eight: Houston- Reliant Stadium Dallas - New Cowboys Stadium Glendale, Arizona - Univ. of Phoenix / Cardinals Stadium Los Angeles - Hollywood Bowl Pasedena, California - Rose Bowl Stadium Silicon Valley - New 49ers Stadium or New Athletics/MLS stadium Chicago - Soilder Field (Bears) Philidelphia - Lincoln Financial Field / (Eagles) Seattle - Qwest Field/ (Seahawks) New York/New Jersey - New Giants/Jets Stadium Tampa Bay - Raymond James Stadium (Buccaneers) Washington D.C. - Fed Ex Field (Redskins) Denver - Mile High Stadium (Broncos) Foxboro, Mass - Gillette Stadium (NE Patriots and NE Revolution) Cleveland or Cincinati - Paul Brown or Cleveland Stadium (Bengals or Browns) 10 Possible Finals and Semifinal cities: Houston Dallas Glendale, Ariz. Chicago Washington D.C. Rutherford, New Jersey Philidelphia Los Angeles Pasedena, Cali Foxboro, Mass Cleveland or Cincinnati???????????????? You can be serious, Can't see anything international happening there whatsoever. No way No how. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ V Lawrence Posted December 17, 2006 Author Share Posted December 17, 2006 Cleveland or Cincinnati????????????????You can be serious, Can't see anything international happening there whatsoever. No way No how.Biggest reason why they have a chance is because of their well designed, decent-size stadiums with natural grass, plus the fact that both cities have fought in the past to host big events like the X-Games and Olympics, so they have experience at making bids. Ohio also has strong patriotism towards the U.S.A., as shown when they sell out for American games.I'll make a correction, though. Ohio State's 100,000 seat stadium probably has the best chance of being a World Cup host site in the state of Ohio, because of it's size, and it's location: Columbus, home of the Columbus Crew, and the city that hosts more U.S. games than any in Ohio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brijonmang Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 I think we could definitely have a good chance to have a few earlier round games, but I dont know about later rounds. You do have to consider that this is 8 years down the road from now and who knows what will develop here between now and then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 Not the Houston Pavilions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ V Lawrence Posted December 18, 2006 Author Share Posted December 18, 2006 I think we could definitely have a good chance to have a few earlier round games, but I dont know about later rounds. You do have to consider that this is 8 years down the road from now and who knows what will develop here between now and then.If Houston keeps up it's trend up of hosting major soccer tournaments like the Gold Cup and have 70,000+ soccer matches like the Barcelona double-header this last Summer, we have a VERY good chance at getting World Cup here should U.S. win the bid. Houston's one of the host cities for Gold Cup '07, and seeing the amount of Dynamo fans that made it 248 miles away to show up to the match helped show the world once again that Houston's a sports town to take very seriously. By 2014, I'm expecting much higher ratings for soccer/futbol, because the American media will be covering it a lot more starting in 2008. Case in point: The European Cup. Last time played, it was partially on FoxSports and PPV. In 2008, it will be shown in America with similar coverage as in the World Cup: ABC, ESPN, ESPN 2, and in spanish, Univision. I'm expecting the Gold Cup to have some good coverage as well since the U.S. won last time. If we get a world-class coach to replace Bob Bradley, or if he proves to be a coaching star like Klinsmann, ratings would probably skyrocket as a result to the media's respect for the U.S.'s desire to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJxvi Posted December 18, 2006 Share Posted December 18, 2006 FIFA has a size of field restriction on World Cup stadiums now in addition to a capacity restriction. Almost none of the football stadiums in the USA can hold a FIFA regulation pitch. Even the new places like Reliant are built for a smaller soccer pitch. Of course, FIFA rarely follows its own rules anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ V Lawrence Posted December 27, 2006 Author Share Posted December 27, 2006 FIFA has a size of field restriction on World Cup stadiums now in addition to a capacity restriction. Almost none of the football stadiums in the USA can hold a FIFA regulation pitch. Even the new places like Reliant are built for a smaller soccer pitch. Of course, FIFA rarely follows its own rules anyway.We hosted in '94, and every game was in a football stadium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalparadise Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 If Houston keeps up it's trend up of hosting major soccer tournaments like the Gold Cup and have 70,000+ soccer matches like the Barcelona double-header this last Summer, we have a VERY good chance at getting World Cup here should U.S. win the bid. Houston's one of the host cities for Gold Cup '07, and seeing the amount of Dynamo fans that made it 248 miles away to show up to the match helped show the world once again that Houston's a sports town to take very seriously. By 2014, I'm expecting much higher ratings for soccer/futbol, because the American media will be covering it a lot more starting in 2008. Case in point: The European Cup. Last time played, it was partially on FoxSports and PPV. In 2008, it will be shown in America with similar coverage as in the World Cup: ABC, ESPN, ESPN 2, and in spanish, Univision. I'm expecting the Gold Cup to have some good coverage as well since the U.S. won last time. If we get a world-class coach to replace Bob Bradley, or if he proves to be a coaching star like Klinsmann, ratings would probably skyrocket as a result to the media's respect for the U.S.'s desire to win.The Gold Cup is nice, but I believe Treasures is even better attended. I don't know what that has to do with soccer, though.Soccer sucks and the US knows it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ V Lawrence Posted December 27, 2006 Author Share Posted December 27, 2006 The Gold Cup is nice, but I believe Treasures is even better attended. I don't know what that has to do with soccer, though.Soccer sucks and the US knows it.R U sure Treasures has 52,000 people going there a night? Also, soccer's the greatest sport on Earth, and the world knows it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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