This would be very cool.
As they prepare to host CONCACAF Gold Cup matches at Reliant Stadium for a third consecutive tournament edition July 9, the folks at Lone Star Sports and Entertainment are busy thinking big — really big.
“We want to bring the World Cup to Houston,” Chris Keeney, LSSE’s general manager, said Friday.
You read right. The World Cup. The biggest, most watched sporting event on the planet.
The United States Soccer Federation has expressed its desire to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.
Heck, I’d put down a deposit on tickets today for this, and I’m not even that much of a soccer fan. I think this would generate quite a bit of excitement locally.
An official declaration of interest has been submitted to FIFA, the sport’s governing body, and U.S. Soccer has until May 2010 to submit all paperwork related to its bid.
FIFA plans to award the tournaments by December of that year.
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U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati is optimistic about the United States’ chances.
“We are confident we can put together a successful bid to host another impressive event,” he said last month, making reference to the 1994 World Cup, which the United States hosted to unprecedented success.
Keeney believes Houston and Reliant Stadium have a strong case to be one of 10-12 host cities, should the U.S. bid prove successful.
There would be a lot of competition, but I too think that if the US bid is accepted, Houston and Reliant would be on the short list. Reliant is a perfectly fine venue for these events, there would be a ton of local interest, and Houston is easy to fly to from anywhere in the world. Good luck to everyone involved in this effort.