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NEW YORK (AP) — MetLife Stadium officials plan to remove 1,740 seats to widen the field for World Cup matches in hopes of hosting the final in 2026, but will keep tighter seating for this year’s Copa America. I plan to.
The stadium, located outside East Rutherford, New Jersey, is one of the contenders for the finals. World Cup expanded to 104 games in 48 countries It will be held on July 19, 2026, along with AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“I speak on behalf of the state of New Jersey, but also as a partner with the city of New York,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a phone interview. “Don’t underestimate what’s going on,” he said. last fall.
FIFA spokesperson Lenny Santiago said FIFA has not set a date to announce specific match venues and could not provide details about renovations to other stadiums. For the 1994 tournament, FIFA announced the venues for specific matches in June 1992, with the finals awarded to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Heimo Silgi, who replaced Colin Smith as World Cup chief operating officer in July last year, could not be reached for comment. Unlike the 1994 World Cup, FIFA is running the 2026 tournament itself without a local organizing committee.
“The few stadiums that require capital projects are treating their projects differently, with some venues scheduling work over multiple NFL offseasons and others between now and spring 2026,” FIFA said in a statement. “In the meantime, some venues are planning to complete everything at once.”
MetLife Life, which opened in 2010, attracted a high of 83,367 spectators for the NFL game between the Jets and Giants in October, and the World Cup bid book estimates the capacity to be 74,895. ing. The current size of a soccer game is 70 by 115 yards (64 by 105 meters), said spokeswoman Helen Strass.
Strass said construction will take place along the sidelines in the corners, but will not affect the club area at field level. The removed seats will become corner seats, which will be replaced with removable section seats after the World Cup. Murphy said negotiations are underway as to who will pay for construction.
“FIFA’s setback clause only really affects MetLife in the corners. Other stadiums have a tougher challenge of having to move the entire perimeter back,” Murphy said. Told. “FIFA wants an agreement that is favorable to them. New Jersey and New York City — remember our partners in New York City — we are clearly ready to take the fight seriously. In fact, we are already doing that.”
FIFA requires a field of 75 x 115 yards (68 x 105 meters) for World Cup matches, but some venues ignored that requirement during the 1994 tournament. Both MetLife and AT&T will need to replace artificial turf with grass, similar to the stadium in Atlanta. Foxboro, Massachusetts. Houston. Inglewood, California. Philadelphia; and Seattle.
A narrower field of MetLife Life was used. 2016 Copa America FinalChile won on penalties against Argentina and will be used for three games in this summer’s South American Championship: Argentina vs. Chile, Uruguay vs. Bolivia in the group stage, and the semi-finals on July 9th.
Murphy also hopes that UEFA will host the European Champions League final at MetLife.
“We could sell tickets for the UEFA Champions League final for 10 stadiums,” he said. “We welcome this opportunity. As I have said many times, we welcome the opportunity for MetLife to host so-called regular season league games in the United States of major European leagues.”
Joe Trahan, a spokesman for the Dallas Cowboys, which operates AT&T Stadium, declined to comment on dimensions or possible changes. He referred questions to FIFA and the Dallas Sports Commission, which did not respond to emails seeking comment.
In 2018, FIFA awarded the rights to host the 2026 tournament to the United States, Mexico and Canada. and Announcement of 16 cities hosting events in 2022.
All 11 of the U.S. World Cup stadiums are home to NFL teams and use 53.3 x 120 yards (49 x 110 meters) playing fields.
Giants Stadium, adjacent to where MetLife was built, hosted seven games in 1994, including Bulgaria’s upset win over defending champion Germany in the quarterfinals and Italy’s victory over Bulgaria in the semifinals. For the 1994 tournament, government officials closed the Lincoln Tunnel to regular vehicular traffic to allow FIFA executives faster access from Manhattan.
“I think we’re going to do the right thing for VIPs who need to make connections,” Murphy said. “We’re going to do it invisible to our patrons, but we’re also going to do it in a way. We’re going to commit to that to FIFA and we’re going to move people quickly,” and the appropriate It requires a level of care. ”
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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