LaVell Edwards Stadium considered for USA World Cup Bid

The USA Bid Committee, organized to bring the FIFA World Cup to the United States in 2018 or 2022, mailed letters to stadium operators in various metropolitan markets across the country last week.

Among the 70 stadiums in the 50 metropolitan areas considered was Brigham Young University's LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. Although the stadium is listed as part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The markets considered range in size from New York City, where the new Meadowlands Stadium will open in 2010 in nearby East Rutherford, N.J., to college town markets such as Lincoln, Neb., and Fayetteville, Ark. See the article from US Soccer for a complete list of the stadiums contacted.

The letters mailed last week from the USA Bid Committee to public officials and stadium operators throughout the United States outline the bid process and criteria for venue selection. FIFA calls for each bidding nation to propose a minimum of 12 stadiums, each capable of seating 40,000 or more spectators. Stadiums with a minimum capacity of 80,000 are required by FIFA for consideration to play host to the Opening Match and Final Match. Out of the 70 stadiums under consideration, more than 65 have a capacity above 60,000, and more than 20 have a capacity above 80,000.

LaVell Edwards Stadium sits right in the middle of the seating ranges required by FIFA with a capacity of 64,045. Its natural grass surface makes the Provo venue more favorable than the next largest stadium in the state up in Salt Lake City, Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah, that holds 45,017.