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.
United States (32 cities) | ||
Atlanta, GA | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | 75,000 |
Baltimore, MD | M&T Bank Stadium | 71,008 |
Birmingham, AL | Legion Field | 71,594 |
Boston, MA (Foxborough, MA) | Gillette Stadium | 65,892 |
Charlotte, NC | Bank of America Stadium | 75,400 |
Chicago, IL | Soldier Field | 61,500 |
Cincinnati, OH | Paul Brown Stadium | 65,515 |
Cleveland, OH | FirstEnergy Stadium | 68,710 |
Dallas, TX | Cotton Bowl | 92,100 |
Dallas, TX (Arlington, TX) | AT&T Stadium | 105,000 |
Denver, CO | Sports Authority Field at Mile High | 76,125 |
Detroit, MI | Ford Field | 65,000 |
Houston, TX | NRG Stadium | 71,500 |
Indianapolis, IN | Lucas Oil Stadium | 65,700 |
Jacksonville, FL | EverBank Field | 64,000 |
Kansas City, MO | Arrowhead Stadium | 76,416 |
Las Vegas, NV | Raiders Stadium | 72,000 |
Los Angeles, CA | Los 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, FL | Hard Rock Stadium | 65,767 |
Minneapolis, MN | U.S. Bank Stadium | 63,000 |
Nashville, TN | Nissan Stadium | 69,143 |
New Orleans, LA | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | 72,000 |
New York/New Jersey (East Rutherford, NJ) | MetLife Stadium | 82,500 |
Orlando, FL | Camping World Stadium | 65,000 |
Philadelphia, PA | Lincoln Financial Field | 69,328 |
Phoenix, AZ (Glendale, AZ) | University of Phoenix Stadium | 73,000 |
Pittsburgh, PA | Heinz Field | 68,400 |
Salt Lake City, UT | Rice-Eccles Stadium | 45,807 |
San Antonio, TX | Alamodome | 72,000 |
San Francisco/San Jose, CA (Santa Clara, CA) | Levi’s Stadium | 72,000 |
Seattle, WA | CenturyLink Field | 69,000 |
Tampa, FL | Raymond James Stadium | 73,309 |
Washington, DC (Landover, MD) | FedEx Field | 82,000 |