Community Corner: Which venues should host the 2026 World Cup?

The 2026 World Cup has an important year in 2020, as fans around the world will learn which venues will host matches during the tournament. With the tournament field expanding to 48 teams in 2026, there will be a record 16 venues used during the World Cup: 3 in Canada, 3 in Mexico, and 10 in the United States. Currently, there are 3 candidate venues in Canada and 3 in Mexico:

Canada - Olympic Stadium, Montreal; Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton; BMO Field, Toronto

Mexico - Estadio Azteca, Mexico City; Estadio BBVA Bancomer, Monterrey; Estadio Akron, Guadalajara

In the United States, there are 17 candidate venues, which will have to be reduced to a final list of 10:

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California; MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey; FedExField, Landover, Maryland; AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas; Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City; Empower Field at Mile High, Denver; NRG Stadium, Houston; M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore; Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta; Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; Nissan Stadium, Nashville; CenturyLink Field, Seattle; Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara; Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts; Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati; Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida; Camping World Stadium, Orlando.

With those venues come a lot of options. The bid cannot take on stadiums that are not on that list, so any dreams of having a World Cup final at the new SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, or Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, which the Oakland Raiders will move to this year, are off the table. BC Place, home of the Vancouver Whitecaps and who hosted the 2015 Women’s World Cup final, is also not an option after they withdrew from consideration.

So, really the decision on venues for the 2026 World Cup, which will come down in June, is all about the American venues. So, we bring it to you: which venues should host the 2026 World Cup? Hit the comments and state your case.