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 Sorry Wisconsin soccer fans, there won't be World Cup matches at Lambeau Field or Camp Randall Stadium.
It's hardly a surprise, but the two state venues that were being considered as part of the U.S. Soccer Federation's bid to play host to the 2018 or 2022 World Cup weren't among the 45 finalists that received Requests for Proposals from the USA Bid Committee this week.
Lambeau Field and Camp Randall were among 58 venues to express interest in being considered for the bid, out of an original list of 70. Lambeau Field was discussed as a potential venue in large part to its historical significance, but it always was going to be a longshot because the stadium would need significant renovations to accommodate a regulation-sized field.
FIFA requires the pitch to be 115 yards long by 75 yards wide; a feasibility study done for the Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football Stadium District showed that the maximum width of a field at Lambeau would be about 66 yards, 2 feet — and that would include some portion of the field being on the concrete apron around the field, according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette. The 45 finalists are located in 37 cities, and the seating capacities range from 45,000 to more than 100,000. Eleven are in the Midwest: Soldier Field in Chicago; the Metrodome and the new TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis; Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis; Ford Field in Detroit; Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Cleveland Browns Stadium; Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio; Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati; the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis; and Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The full list can be found here.
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