World Cup soccer at Lambeau Field? It's not wide enough
GREEN BAY – Don't expect to see a World Cup soccer match in Green Bay.
Lambeau Field and possibly the city just aren't big enough.
The United Bid Committee of the United States, Mexico and Canada on Tuesday sent feelers to 44 cities inviting them to declare an interest in 2026 FIFA World Cup matches. It expects to include 20 to 25 venues in its bid to FIFA, of which maybe a dozen could be selected. Cities have to declare their interest by Sept. 5.
At Lambeau, width, rather than length, is the issue. The width of an NFL field is 53⅓ yards. A FIFA regulation soccer field is 70-80 yards wide. One problem would be that corner kicks would have to be made on the service apron that surrounds the field, and that would not be acceptable for World Cup-level soccer.
"Lambeau Field is not able to accommodate a regulation-sized soccer field," said Aaron Popkey, Packers director of public affairs.
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The Green Bay/Brown County Football Stadium District and the Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau previously looked into hosting professional soccer at Lambeau Field and concluded that exhibition matches were possible, but higher-level competition would be unlikely.
"We applied before, but we were not even selected for future consideration," said Greg Kuhel, a consultant for the Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football Stadium District.
Popkey said Lambeau could be a site for other World Cup-related activities, such as a team base camp.
The inability to host World Cup soccer points to the disadvantages of being one of the smallest cities in major professional sports.
"The other issues we always have with events of that nature are the requirements for hotel rooms, an airport with direct flights, public transportation. Sometimes they have requirements that can only be met by a major metropolitan area," Kuehl said.
The bid committee said each city expressing interest is asked to provide information about transportation infrastructure, past experience hosting major sporting and cultural events, available accommodations, environmental protection initiatives, potential venues and more.
In addition, each city must propose top international-level training sites and locations for team base camps, and hotels for teams, staff and VIPs. The committee said it will evaluate cities on their commitment to sustainable event management, their aspirations to develop soccer, and the positive social impact anticipated in the local community and beyond.