Where should the 2026 World Cup final be held?

[mhays]

I finally voted...Seattle. It's the only major outdoor stadium in an urban core among the US/Canada options. The neighborhood isn't pretty, and there are some parking lots, but it's walkable from Downtown hotels and has good transit, which will be substantially better in 2026.

[thoughtcriminal]

the thing about the philly sports complex is that it works great, when it is working at all. you can have a phillies game, eagles game, and a sixers game all happening at the same time, no problem. there's too much parking in my opinion, but as it is, it works fine.
it's when there are no games happening, like on most weekdays, that there is no greater emptiness than that complex. there needs to be more commercial development to activate it during non-game times. that would reduce the amount of parking and theoretically make more people take the subway also.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by mhays

It's going to be embarassing to have aerials of a suburban stadium in a sea of surface parking.

Well, in 1994, the Rose Bowl was the venue for the final game, but I guess the surface parking lots aren't as vast there.

I thought it looked great on TV.

historyofsoccer.com

Incidentally, for the 1994 World Cup, the opening ceremony was at Chicago's Soldier Field:

historyofsoccer.com

I could be wrong but I think the opening ceremony for 2026 will be at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by PhillyRising

Built form...again...where in the narrow streets of Philly would you put a stadium like The Linc. I mean there is a reason why they play football in Foxboro, East Rutherford and Landover and not Boston, New York or Washington DC. The Eagles play in Philadelphia. Just sayin....

The Jets were supposed to move into the Olympic stadium if NYC won the 2012 games. That stadium would've been built on the far west side of Manhattan near the Javitz Center.

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

The Jets were supposed to move into the Olympic stadium if NYC won the 2012 games. That stadium would've been built on the far west side of Manhattan near the Javitz Center.

Thank god that didn't happen. Still would like to see a new Jets Stadium tho. In NYC

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by MAC123

Thank god that didn't happen. Still would like to see a new Jets Stadium tho. In NYC

The stadium would've been built over the LIRR rail yard, so it would have been a net plus for land use, and transit accessible by the 7 train extension. I believe the 7 train extension was planned specifically for the Olympics, but luckily they went on with that plan despite losing the bid. This is where it would have been built: https://goo.gl/maps/YzMhtwVyWBGHP6DA9

There also seems to be plenty of space to build a football stadium at Willet's Point or Flushing Meadows, near CitiField and Arthur Ashe, even with the new soccer stadium plans. That area also has good transit access between the subway and the LIRR.

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

The stadium would've been built over the LIRR rail yard, so it would have been a net plus for land use, and transit accessible by the 7 train extension. I believe the 7 train extension was planned specifically for the Olympics, but luckily they went on with that plan despite losing the bid. This is where it would have been built: https://goo.gl/maps/YzMhtwVyWBGHP6DA9

There also seems to be plenty of space to build a football stadium at Willet's Point or Flushing Meadows, near CitiField and Arthur Ashe, even with the new soccer stadium plans. That area also has good transit access between the subway and the LIRR.

I know where it was going to be built. And yes something there is better than nothing, but HY is far more valuable in that space than the stadium ever would have been.

I would like to see them build a new Jets Stadium by Citifield, turn that whole area into a sports megacomplex.

[TempleGuy1000]

Originally Posted by thoughtcriminal

the thing about the philly sports complex is that it works great, when it is working at all. you can have a phillies game, eagles game, and a sixers game all happening at the same time, no problem. there's too much parking in my opinion, but as it is, it works fine.
it's when there are no games happening, like on most weekdays, that there is no greater emptiness than that complex. there needs to be more commercial development to activate it during non-game times. that would reduce the amount of parking and theoretically make more people take the subway also.

But, we aren't talking about any old Saturday. The "stadium district" and greater recreational area, that includes FDR park across the street, was created in 1926 for the fair then. FDR is receiving a large update with the addition of a dozen soccer fields, which one would assume will serve as a prep area and festival grounds for the games. It's not that hard to walk across the street to the Linc and I would assume some large events will be taking up the parking lots around the area. The subway station there is built to handle more than enough people. Unlike the Meadow Lands that is a pain in the ass to get to on public transit along with it being "illegal" to technically walk there. Greatest city in the world lol.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by MAC123

I know where it was going to be built. And yes something there is better than nothing, but HY is far more valuable in that space than the stadium ever would have been.

Hudson Yards was going to be built regardless, but the location of the stadium is still not developed. If the stadium had been built, it would have almost certainly been the site of the 2026 WC final.

[edale]

Yikes, that Philly sports complex is even worse than I realized. I agree with Steely-- a total embarrassment for a city as urban and dope as Philly. I'd hate to see the aerial shots from there during the world cup, though I suppose it would be a fairly accurate portrayal of America.

I imagine the final will go to NYC, though I think Mexico City would be the best and coolest option.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Hudson Yards was going to be built regardless, but the location of the stadium is still not developed. If the stadium had been built, it would have almost certainly been the site of the 2026 WC final.

If you read The Art of The Deal, Donald Trump really wanted to develop Hudson Yards back around 1990, and might have pulled it off if not for the collapse of his empire thanks to the commercial real estate crash. He was trying to get NBC to build a new HQ in the world's tallest building just west of Madison Square Garden.

I contend that that book is of intense interest to anyone who makes a hobby of studying New York City history, as there are all sorts of almosts in that book, plus interesting vignettes like taking business trips via helicopter. There is riffing on the United States Football League (the attempt to break up the NFL), Atlantic City at its apex - literally one thing after another.

[SFBruin]

I think that it's hard to imagine that the final wouldn't be in NY.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

If you read The Art of The Deal, Donald Trump really wanted to develop Hudson Yards back around 1990, and might have pulled it off if not for the collapse of his empire thanks to the commercial real estate crash. He was trying to get NBC to build a new HQ in the world's tallest building just west of Madison Square Garden.

I contend that that book is of intense interest to anyone who makes a hobby of studying New York City history, as there are all sorts of almosts in that book, plus interesting vignettes like taking business trips via helicopter. There is riffing on the United States Football League (the attempt to break up the NFL), Atlantic City at its apex - literally one thing after another.

I'm very skeptical that Trump had the skills to pull off a Hudson Yards. Stephen Ross is far more competent than Trump, and that was even a struggle for him to pull off.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I'm very skeptical that Trump had the skills to pull off a Hudson Yards. Stephen Ross is far more competent than Trump, and that was even a struggle for him to pull off.

I don't think that he was going to do the whole thing. In typical Trump fashion, he was probably only going to do the single tower, or rather the tower sans the lobby!

[sopas ej]

Hmm, MetLife Stadium...


Does anyone know if FIFA allows corporate-sponsored names on stadiums? The IOC does not, so, when LA hosts the Summer Olympics in '28, the media will probably refer to SoFi as Olympic Stadium or something during the duration of the Games, and corporate logos will be hidden or temporarly removed.

[thoughtcriminal]

Here was the original configuration of the philly sports complex:
Vet Stadium (foreground)
Spectrum (middle ground)
JFK Stadium (background)
All are demolished. The Wachovia Center is now where JFK used to be.
The Vet and Spectrum were right at Broad and Pattison, where the subway station is. Pattison Ave is the street that separates the Vet and Spectrum. Today, you have to walk blocks to get to the stadiums from the subway.
It's also cool to see the Navy Yard beyond.

[mousquet]

Frankly, I don't care. It may be held in an arena stuck in the bottom of Arkansas, there'll be all the media and all the cameras in the world to witness another French victory anyway.
That's what matters.

As long as our national team brings the cup back home, I don't mind where the game happens.
Oh, and screw Argentina, huh.
They are officially my favorite and most obnoxious rivals and opponents now.
We'll have our revenge! Our team will take them out like in 2018.

[thoughtcriminal]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

I don't think that he was going to do the whole thing. In typical Trump fashion, he was probably only going to do the single tower, or rather the tower sans the lobby!

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by thoughtcriminal

Here was the original configuration of the philly sports complex:
Vet Stadium (foreground)
Spectrum (middle ground)
JFK Stadium (background)
All are demolished.

I forgot about The Spectrum! The place sounded so damn exotic when it was introduced by Marv Albert or any of that area's announcers!

[PhillyRising]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ I only responded to you because you seemed to be arguing that the Philly sports complex is a good thing.

I think it's actually a shitty thing.

Just like most US stadium complexes surrounded by an ocean of asphalt.




Love it all you want.

I won't.

It's going to be hard for anyone not from Philly to understand how it works for our region. It may not look pretty...but for us....it works. Cities are supposed to work. It handles the events efficiently. It has accessibility for everyone in the city and the suburbs in three states to get there from every direction by various modes of transportation and it doesn't bog down the streets in Center City any more than it is on most days.

You have to go there to appreciate it. It makes sense to me to have a Sports Complex in a sports mad city.

You also can see it has plenty of room for future development..or redevelopment...kind of like when they got rid of the suburban looking Mickey D's across from Wrigley Field and put more appropriate urban development in it's place. It can happen there too...hell that land was pig farms and muck a 100 years ago.

....and lets face it...that massive "hellscape" hosted Live AID in 1985 with pictures of the parking lots beamed around the world and it was held in a stadium 5 years away from being condemned for being structurally unsafe. Nobody talks about what it looked like in aerial pictures..they talk about what happened on the ground. Not that the World Cup final is going to be played in Philly...its going to be SoFi or Met Life...but it's a complex that is going to handle whatever games are played there very well getting the crowds in and out and probably may even have a party atmosphere in the areas surrounding The Linc.

If the Linc, Wells Fargo Center and The Bank were lined up in the same line like JFK, the Spectrum and The Vet were...it wouldn't look as bad...because they'd be along Broad and not set back like they are now.