Close Look At Soccer Field At Allegiant Stadium Shows Why Las Vegas Is Not Hosting 2026 World Cup
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
It’s not until you emerge onto the soccer field at Allegiant Stadium that you realize why the 2026 FIFA World Cup will not be coming to Las Vegas — home to the F1 grand prix race in November and the NFL Super Bowl in February.
There’s about six feet from the stands to the corner of the pitch on one end of the field.
LVSportsBiz.com checked out the stadium’s soccer field Monday evening on the eve of an international soccer match, a friendly, between two of the world’s high-profile teams — Italy’s AC Milan and Spain’s FC Barcelona.
Las Vegas is on a roll when it comes to hosting blockbuster sports events.
With the Las Vegas Grand Prix zooming into Las Vegas Nov. 16-18 and the Super Bowl less than 200 days away, the Vegas market will also be hosting the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four at Allegiant Stadium in 2028.
But Las Vegas will not be among the 16 cities across Canada, Mexico and the United States hosting the 2026 World Cup.
The reason is that Allegiant Stadium, designed by the NFL Raiders, has a grass surface and space that are not wide enough to meet FIFA standards for World Cup matches.
The field does host international soccer matches like the USA-Mexico Gold Cup final exactly two years ago Aug. 1, 2021. About 50,000 soccer fans also watched Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund in a friendly at Allegiant Stadium Sunday.
Tuesday’s Milan vs Barcelona friendly as part of the Soccer Champions Tour starts at 8PM. LVSportsBiz.com will be at the game.
The Barcelona club had travel issues and came late for a press conference event Monday at the stadium.
