Soldier Field among 41 sites considered for 2026 World Cup bid

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Balloons are released at the start of the opening ceremonies for the 15th World Cup on June 17, 1994 at Soldier Field. | Chris Wilkins/Getty Images

Soldier Field is among the sites considered to be included in a 2026 World Cup.

The United Bid Committee — a joint bid among the United States, Canada and Mexico — received bids from 41 North American cities, including Chicago to play host a 2026 World Cup game. The committee invited 43 cities to make bids last month.

The committee will narrow the shortlist of cities by the end of September. The goal is to narrow the list to 20-25 venues for the final bid, which is due to FIFA in Jan. 2018.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first time the tournament expands from 32 to 48 teams, which breaks down to 16 groups of three teams with 80 overall matches.

When the U.S. played host to the World Cup in 1994, the opening ceremony, four group-play games and a round of 16 game was held at Soldier Field.

For the 2026 bid, Soldier Field only would be eligible to host a group play game because its 61,500 doesn’t meet the 80,000 minimum for the opening match or final.

Here are the full list of cities that submitted a bid.

Potential Bid Cities

City

Stadium

Capacity

Canada (6 cities)

Edmonton, AlbertaCommonwealth Stadium

56,335

Montréal, QuébecStade Olympique

61,004

Ottawa, OntarioTD Place Stadium

24,341

Regina, SaskatchewanMosaic Stadium

30,048

Toronto, OntarioBMO Field

28,026

Vancouver, British ColumbiaBC Place

55,165

Mexico (3 cities)

Guadalajara, JaliscoEstadio Chivas

45,364

Mexico CityEstadio Azteca

87,000

Monterrey, Nuevo LeónEstadio Rayados

52,237

United States (32 cities)

Atlanta, GAMercedes-Benz Stadium

75,000

Baltimore, MDM&T Bank Stadium

71,008

Birmingham, ALLegion Field

71,594

Boston, MA (Foxborough, MA)Gillette Stadium

65,892

Charlotte, NCBank of America Stadium

75,400

Chicago, ILSoldier Field

61,500

Cincinnati, OHPaul Brown Stadium

65,515

Cleveland, OHFirstEnergy Stadium

68,710

Dallas, TXCotton Bowl

92,100

Dallas, TX (Arlington, TX)AT&T Stadium

105,000

Denver, COSports Authority Field at Mile High

76,125

Detroit, MIFord Field

65,000

Houston, TXNRG Stadium

71,500

Indianapolis, INLucas Oil Stadium

65,700

Jacksonville, FLEverBank Field

64,000

Kansas City, MOArrowhead Stadium

76,416

Las Vegas, NVRaiders Stadium

72,000

Los Angeles, CALos Angeles Memorial Coliseum

78,500

Los Angeles, CA (Inglewood, CA)LA Stadium at Hollywood Park

TBD

Los Angeles, CA (Pasadena, CA)Rose Bowl

87,527

Miami, FLHard Rock Stadium

65,767

Minneapolis, MNU.S. Bank Stadium

63,000

Nashville, TNNissan Stadium

69,143

New Orleans, LAMercedes-Benz Superdome

72,000

New York/New Jersey (East Rutherford, NJ)MetLife Stadium

82,500

Orlando, FLCamping World Stadium

65,000

Philadelphia, PALincoln Financial Field

69,328

Phoenix, AZ (Glendale, AZ)University of Phoenix Stadium

73,000

Pittsburgh, PAHeinz Field

68,400

Salt Lake City, UTRice-Eccles Stadium

45,807

San Antonio, TXAlamodome

72,000

San Francisco/San Jose, CA (Santa Clara, CA)Levi’s Stadium

72,000

Seattle, WACenturyLink Field

69,000

Tampa, FLRaymond James Stadium

73,309

Washington, DC (Landover, MD)FedEx Field

82,000

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