World Cup decision could come soon

Bid board meets in New York ahead of last host city candidate cuts

Email | Print By J.R. Lind

The board of directors for the United States' bid to host soccer's World Cup in 2018 or 2022 met in New York Tuesday, indicating the final list of potential host cities could come soon.

Nashville is on the committee's list of 27 possible host cities, which will be pared down to 14 to 18 before the U.S. Soccer Federation, the game's governing body in the U.S., submits the bid to FIFA, which will select the host countries for 2018 and 2022 late next year. A release from U.S. Soccer said a decision on the final list of cities will be made "in the next weeks."

"The meeting marks an important milestone for our bid as we now start the second and final stage of our bid campaign,” said Sunil Gulati, chairman of the USA Bid Committee and president of U.S. Soccer. "We are honored to have the ongoing support of our Board of Directors and thankful so many could take the time to meet with us today and engage in constructive dialogue about our bid."

Mayor Karl Dean's office told NashvillePost.com the mayor expects to hear word soon, but had no specific timeline. Dean and Nashville Convention and Visitors' Bureau President Butch Spyridon led Nashville's bid team on a trip to New York last month for a final pitch, returning to the Music City declaring the presentation a success.

Since then, Spyridon told the Sports Authority he felt extremely confident about LP Field's chances of being chosen as a venue, putting the odds between "75 and 80 percent." At that Dec. 3 meeting, the Authority approved a stadium agreement and memorandum of understanding, allowing for necessary changes to be made in the lease at LP Field to allow FIFA, soccer's world governing body, to take over the stadium should the World Cup come to Nashville in 2018 or 2022.