There are a lot of factors in considering Seattle as a 2026 men’s World Cup city. The biggest might just be the surface of Lumen Field.

In the campaign for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup to select Seattle as one of its host cities, an executive committee linked three things – football history, ingenuity and inclusivity. But for FIFA, the global governing body of sport, the three crucial playing fields are the playing field and the playing field – just like on grass pitches.

“The place is everything. The pitch is untouchable, ”said Victor Montagliani, FIFA Vice-President and CONCACAF President. He was joined by Colin Smith, FIFA’s Chief Tournament and Events Officer, as head of the delegation that spent the past two days evaluating Seattle’s vision of a World Cup experience in the region.

Puget Sound showed itself from two sides – a picturesque autumn Sunday with snow-capped mountain ranges shining in the sun, and a traditional rainy Monday. Parts of the delegation were at Lumen Field on both days to observe the Seahawks and Sounders FC and to evaluate the system at live events.

But a key component to hosting World Cup matches was missing when the tournament hits North America in 2026.

Grass.

“It’s not just grass, it’s the highest quality,” Smith said of the association’s requirement. “A little more detail on this is the consistency of the playing surface. You have many different cities and many different climatic conditions. We’ll also have different types of grass to suit these conditions, but the consistency of the game on these courses is guaranteed. We are looking for that. “

The discussion revives one of the more controversial parts of Seattle’s history.

In 1997 the Seahawks threatened to be relocated to California under the former owner Ken Behring. The late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen offered to buy the team to keep it in Seattle, but only if a stadium was built to replace the Kingdome and about $ 300 million in public money to build it use.

The Washington Public Stadium Authority Bill (known as Referendum 48) gained approval as Allen’s plans to include grass-field football were redesigned, even claiming that passing the bill would help attract the Olympics, World Cup, or Super Bowl . MLS also said it would grant Seattle a team if a stadium was built.

The measure was adopted with 51% of the votes, which corresponds to a difference of 36,780 people. But the Sounders didn’t join the league until 2009, and artificial turf is the main surface because of the Seahawks.

“It’s disappointing for us and the Sounders players understand why we play on artificial turf,” said Hall of Fame goalkeeper Kasey Keller, who worked for the US men’s national team at World Cups in France (1998) and Germany (2006) played) and was in goal for the Sounders from 2009-11.

“We all want to play on a great lawn,” continued Keller. “And FIFA is right to demand it. (Lawn) is much more demanding on your body. My recovery time from playing on turf was at least two days shorter than when playing on artificial turf. When it comes to games that will be played in four or five days, that’s a toll. “

At events like the Copa America in 2016, grass was installed on the Lumen Field. Should FIFA designate Seattle as the venue for the World Cup, Adrian Hanauer, majority owner of Sounders, said there was a 1997 provision that weed should be installed.

“We will address it,” said Hanauer during the press conference. “FIFA has technical parameters that require them to have consistent fields in all stadiums across the country. I don’t know the technical aspects at the moment. I am not guessing that it is a stopover of the synthetic material. It’s more significant than that.

“It’s a balanced playing field. FIFA is looking at a lot of NFL stadiums, most of them have plastic, so this isn’t the most critical part of the bid in my opinion as seven other NFL stadiums (with artificial turf) are being considered.

The limelight as a possible World Cup city could drive several infrastructure and construction projects across the border. The Sounders and OL Reign have partnered with Tacoma to build a stadium with approximately 10,000 seats. Hanauer has long wanted his club to have its own training facility or that the current use of Starfire Sports in Tukwila could be converted according to FIFA requirements.

After considering game day and training pitches, Smith said travel is also a top priority. Seattle has the advantage of being equidistant from Asia to Europe and Portland to Vancouver.

The games of the 2026 World Cup could be regionalized or shift to similar time zones according to tournament phases. Smith said these decisions weren’t made, nor is there any indicator of how many games a city could hold.

“The US, Canada and Mexico geographic footprint is by far the largest footprint we’ve ever had for a World Cup,” said Smith. “For fans and teams, we don’t want people to have to cross the entire length between each game and take a deep breath. It’s a factor we’re going to look at. We will look at the consistency of the trips, starting with the teams, we need them to work at the highest level. “

Keller, who attended the presentation, noted that during the tournament, some countries are choosing a city as their home base and building their own facilities for their stay that can be used long after the World Cup. He was convinced that Seattle was an attractive place.

The visit to FIFA, which also included stops at the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI), Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) and the headquarters of Amazon in the city center, was the last of the eight cities on this trip. The final round of potential locations includes Edmonton, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Los Angeles, and Toronto.

A decision should be made by March 2022.

Jayda Evans:
206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @JaydaEvans. Jayda Evans covers the Sounders. It offers observation, criticism, and the occasional unusual story. Evans also has a book about the storm and women’s tires called “Game On!” written.

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