World Cup in Lincoln

[joeglow]

I heard on Sports Nightly that UNL is looking at trying to get the 2022 World Cup in Lincoln (one of the pools, that is).

[almighty_tuna]

Would be great exposure!

[sincitybaby]

I doubt it simply because of poor airport access.  Unless Eppley is considered close to most.  BTW yes I think they are close enough but I think most people don't

[joeglow]

I doubt it simply because of poor airport access.  Unless Eppley is considered close to most.  BTW yes I think they are close enough but I think most people don't

Why not?  When I fly into Chicago, DC, LA, etc. I find myself driving an hour to get to my destination.  I don't know why this would be any different.  The bigger question would be hotels.

[nebugeater]

Memorial stadium was on a list of 70 +/- sites that were mentioned as possible host site.  UNL was not going after this.



The print version of the OWH has a story today stating that the University as asked to be removed from the list of possible World Cup Sites.  At this point I do not find the story on line.  The story sites, stadium configuration concerns (I read as field size) scheduling conflicts and the fact that the stadium has field turf while there is a requirement to play on grass as the primary issues.  The story also says that the list was primarily put together based on US sites that seat over 80,000.

[UNOstudent]

If the World Cup was at any college football stadium, my money would be on TCF Bank Stadium (already mentioned as a soccer site for 2016 Chicago Olympics), Sanford Stadium (soccer site for the 1996 Olympics), or Michigan Stadium. I doubt they'd play at Notre Dame Stadium unless Soldier Field's field dimensions don't work for soccer.

70 sites

http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_i ... sites.html

Metro Market  Stadium Location
Atlanta, Ga. Georgia Dome Atlanta, Ga.
Atlanta, Ga. Sanford Stadium Athens, Ga.
Austin, Texas Royal Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, Texas
Baltimore, Md. M&T Bank Stadium Baltimore, Md.
Baton Rouge, La. Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, La.
Birmingham, Ala. Legion Field Birmingham, Ala.
Birmingham, Ala. Bryant-Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Boston, Mass. Gillette Stadium Foxborough, Mass.
Buffalo, N.Y. Ralph Wilson Stadium Orchard Park, N.Y.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, Iowa
Champaign, Ill. Memorial Stadium Champaign, Ill.
Charlotte, N.C. Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, N.C.
Chicago, Ill. Soldier Field Chicago, Ill.
Cincinnati, Ohio Paul Brown Stadium Cincinnati, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland Browns Stadium Cleveland, Ohio
Columbia, Mo. Faurot Field Columbia, Mo.
Columbia, S.C. Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, S.C.
Columbus, Ga. Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, Ala.
Columbus, Ohio   Ohio Stadium Columbus, Ohio
Dallas, Texas Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas Dallas Cowboys New Stadium Arlington, Texas
Denver, Colo. Invesco Field Denver, Colo.
Detroit, Mich. University of Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, Mich.
Detroit, Mich. Ford Field Detroit, Mich.
Detroit, Mich. Spartan Stadium East Lansing, Mich.
Fayetteville, Ark. Reynolds Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, Ark.
Green Bay, Wis. Lambeau Field Green Bay, Wis.
Greenville, S.C. Memorial Stadium Clemson, S.C.
Harrisburg, Pa. Beaver Stadium University Park, Pa.
Houston, Texas Reliant Stadium Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas Rice Stadium Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas Kyle Field College Station, Texas
Indianapolis, Ind. Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis, Ind.
Jacksonville, Fla. Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Jacksonville, Fla.
Jacksonville, Fla. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, Fla.
Kansas City, Mo. Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, Mo.
Knoxville, Tenn. Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tenn.
Lexington, Ky. Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, Ky.
Los Angeles, Calif. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, Calif.
Los Angeles, Calif. Rose Bowl Pasadena, Calif.
Madison, Wis. Camp Randall Stadium Madison, Wis.
Miami, Fla. Dolphin Stadium Miami Gardens, Fla.
Minneapolis, Minn. TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, Minn.
Minneapolis, Minn. Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, Minn.
Nashville, Tenn. LP Field Nashville, Tenn.
New Haven, Conn. Yale Bowl New Haven, Conn.
New Orleans, La. Superdome New Orleans, La.
New York, N.Y. Meadowlands Stadium East Rutherford, N.J.
Oklahoma City, Okla. Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, Okla.
Omaha, Neb. Memorial StadUium Lincoln, Neb.
Orlando, Fla. Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, Fla.
Philadelphia, Pa. Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, Pa.
Phoenix, Ariz. University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, Ariz.
Phoenix, Ariz. Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Ariz.
Pittsburgh, Pa. Heinz Field Pittsburgh, Pa.
Roanoke, Va. Lane Stadium Blacksburg, Va.
Salt Lake City, Utah LaVell Edwards Stadium Provo, Utah
San Antonio, Texas Alamodome San Antonio, Texas
San Diego, Calif. Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, Calif.
San Fran/Oakland, Calif. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Oakland, Calif.
San Fran/Oakland, Calif. Stanford Stadium Stanford, Calif.
San Fran/Oakland, Calif. California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, Calif.
Seattle, Wash. Qwest Field Seattle, Wash.
Seattle, Wash. Husky Stadium Seattle, Wash.
South Bend, Ind. Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, Ind.
St. Louis, Mo. Edward Jones Dome St. Louis, Mo.
Tallahassee, Fla. Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, Fla.
Tampa, Fla. Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Fla.
Washington, D.C. RFK Memorial Stadium Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. FedEx Field Landover, Md.

[Stargazer]

my money would be on TCF Bank Stadium (already mentioned as a soccer site for 2016 Chicago Olympics)

I would hope Chicago could find some place closer than Minneapolis to host Olympic soccer games... plus, TCF Bank only seats 50,000.  Are they thinking World Cup can't draw any better than that?

I AM looking forward to watching the Golden Gopher marching band next year at the new stadium though.

[OmahaJaysCU]

my money would be on TCF Bank Stadium (already mentioned as a soccer site for 2016 Chicago Olympics)

I would hope Chicago could find some place closer than Minneapolis to host Olympic soccer games... plus, TCF Bank only seats 50,000.  Are they thinking World Cup can't draw any better than that?

I AM looking forward to watching the Golden Gopher marching band next year at the new stadium though.

I was thinking the same, but I got a chance to go to a presentation a few months ago about Chicago's Olympic bid and apparently most Olympic Soccer stadiums are pretty far away from the host city.  And apparently even with the distance of the stadium in Minnesota, it still would be the most compact Olympic games ever.

[UNOstudent]

The 1996 Olympics had soccer in DC and Miami, both around 650 miles from Atlanta. Minneapolis is around 400 miles from Chicago. Also, events for the 2008 Olympics were held in Hong Kong, 1200 miles from Beijing.

TCF Bank Stadium was designed to be expanded to 80,000. I'm sure that's something that can be done in time for 2018 or 2022 World Cup if selected.

Of course the far majority of the college stadiums are just listed to show how many large stadiums we have with little chance of getting chosen (see UNL). However, if they do choose a college stadium, those were my picks.

[Stargazer]

Unless Chicago is going to pay for the expansion... I don't see UMN expanding the stadium any time soon (especially with $100 million in budget cuts).  I think they're going to enjoy shutting tens of thousands of Iowa fans out for a while in their new 'right sized' stadium.

[thenewguy]

Unless Chicago is going to pay for the expansion... I don't see UMN expanding the stadium any time soon (especially with $100 million in budget cuts).  I think they're going to enjoy shutting tens of thousands of Iowa fans out for a while in their new 'right sized' stadium.

Yeah, that is good for them, but shitty still.  When we went up for the game at the metrodome, it was about 50/50, if not more towards the iowa side, and after talking to some people they were saying that MN was hoping to draw more Minnesota fans for the Iowa/Minnesota game.  I thought it didn't make much sense either way, because you have to travel at 3 hours to Minneapolis from Iowa (if you lived right on the border, or 6-7 hours from Iowa City) and they still didn't have a good showing.  Moving it a short distance away from there towards campus wont make much difference to Iowa fans, when Minnesota should have been making a strong showing anyway when it's so close for them.  
But back to the topic at hand: i really don't see very many of the possible sites even being a possibility when the world cup draws so many people.  At least UNL was big enough to drop out early "based on not wanting to put in a grass field" when there wasn't a good chance anyway.  Think about the logistics of trying to get hotels, travel, etc for all those people?  A big city like Chicago or Minneapolis has a way better shot.  And to head it off before it comes, i'm a Huskers fan (so i'd love to have seen it come so close but i still find it hard to fathom) and i'm also a baseball/CWS fan (but there would be more people coming than during the CWS...and hotel rooms are booked solid for miles during the CWS as it is).  Even at that, i don't see it working out here.  Much less Cedar Rapids/Iowa city, or any other metro that doesn't have a big airport and more rooms to support that influx of people, as well as a more effective method of mass transit, etc.