Rose Bowl and Coliseum want to host World Cup games
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A sea of red, white and blue waved on the Fourth of July beside a bouncing, dancing, drumming and whistling ocean of yellow and green. A crowd of 84,147 packed Stanford Stadium with the most colorful and beautiful display I have ever seen in sports. The action on the field was almost as vibrant, with eventual champion Brazil slipping past the United States, 1-0, in a hard-fought round of 16 game during the 1994 World Cup.
The mere thought of the tournament’s return gives me goose bumps.
The USA Bid Committee for the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 has received confirmation from 58 venues interested in hosting games. The Rose Bowl, which hosted the tournament in 1994, and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, arguably the most historic sports venue in the country, are both on the list.
Other possible California sites include Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego), Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, the new Stanford Stadium (Palo Alto), and California Memorial Stadium (Berkeley). Candlestick Park in San Francisco is the only NFL stadium not on the list.
Nine U.S. stadiums hosted games for the 1994 tournament, which included eight fewer teams and twelve fewer matches than the current format. Despite the short schedule, the United States set an overall attendance mark of 3,587,538 that has yet to be broken. That number bested the previous record by more than 1 million fans. The final was held in Pasadena. After a scoreless tie in regulation, Brazil beat Italy, 3-2, on penalty kicks (clinched by Roberto Baggio‘s infamous shank).
The U.S. bid is receiving plenty of diplomatic support, with Henry Kissinger on the committee. President Obama has also spoken out about the games:
“Hosting another successful World Cup is important for the continued growth of the sport in the United States. And it is important to me personally,” Obama said in a letter. “As a child, I played soccer on a dirt road in Jakarta, and the game brought the children of my neighborhood together. As a father, I saw that same spirit of unity alive on the fields and sidelines of my own daughters’ soccer games in Chicago.
“Soccer is truly the world’s sport, and the World Cup promotes camaraderie and friendly competition across the globe. That is why this bid is about much more than a game. It is about the United States of America inviting the world to gather all across our great country in celebration of our common hopes and dreams.’
-- Adam Rose