JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville is one of 34 cities in the United States that has been contacted by the bid committee for the 2026 World Cup to gauge its interest in being a host city for matches.
In total, 44 cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada are up for consideration to host matches, with 49 stadiums as possibilities.
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Stadiums must have at least 40,000 seats for group stage matches and at least 80,000 to be considered for the opening match and the World Cup Final. Everbank Field has a seating capacity of 64,000.
Each city has been asked to respond to the request for information by Sept. 5 of this year. Cities are asked to provide the bid committee with information about transportation infrastructure, past major sporting events hosted, available accommodations, environmental protection initiatives, potential venues and more.
The bid committee says each city has to propose top international-level training sites and locations for team base camps, and hotels for teams, staff and VIP’s.
Final bids are due to the bid committee in early January 2018, when the committee plans to cut the list to include 20 to 25 venues in the final bid to FIFA for the decision on which locations will host the matches. It is anticipated that at least 12 could be selected to host the matches.
Everbank Field has successfully hosted both Men’s and Women’s National Team matches in recent years, including a crowd of 44,428 in 2012 in a friendly against Scotland and a crowd 52,033 in its final send-off match against Nigeria before the 2014 World Cup.
A spokesperson for the Mayor's Office said, "We do not have any information to provide at this time," as it relates to submitting a proposal.
A final decision from FIFA on the World Cup host sites is expected to be made next summer.