No stadium, no problem: Vegas on World Cup list

By Rob Miech

Friday, May 15, 2009 | 1:31 p.m.

Las Vegas is in the mix to play host to a few future World Cup soccer games.

That no suitable stadium exists for such high-profile matches and the U.S. hasn’t been guaranteed either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup seem to be insignificant at this preliminary stage.

It’s so early, the group representing Las Vegas – Sports City USA – wants to remain in the shadows as an anonymous entity.

Jurgen Mainka, the director of marketing and communications for the USA Bid Committee, said it’s not unusual for a city currently without a stadium to be considered for a World Cup.

“Really, the idea of a city wanting to be part of this process without having a tangible stadium is not far-fetched,” Mainka said this afternoon from New York. “It’s a visionary approach, absolutely. I don’t think it’s odd at all.

“A year before the 2018 World Cup, there might be two or three jewels of stadiums – the most modern stadiums in the world, that don’t currently exist – that FIFA would consider and include.”

The World Cup will be staged in South Africa next summer, and it will be held in Brazil in 2014. England is considered to be the favorite for 2018, leaving 2022 for the U.S.

Although there will be competition.

Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Russia and Mexico are in the running for 2018, as are joint bids from Belgium-Holland and Portugal-Spain. Those countries will have fallback bids for 2022.

Qatar and South Korea are only bidding for 2022.

Formal bid documents must be received by FIFA, soccer’s world governing body in Switzerland, by May 2010, and both the 2018 and 2022 hosts will be revealed in December 2010.

Three weeks ago, Las Vegas appeared on a list of 58 potential host venues in a release by the USA Bid Committee. It is the lone entrant that does not feature a stadium.

The Los Angeles-based sports agency Premier Partnerships, which is led by Alan Rothenberg and has been working in Las Vegas on various projects for six years, represents SCUSA.

Jeff Marks, the chief operating officer for Premier Partnerships, said he couldn’t disclose the entity behind SCUSA. Another source familiar with the project said it is likely either MGM Mirage or Harrah’s.

“It is very exciting news,” said Marks, 37. “We can’t say much about it right now … but it’s amazing. The project is exactly what Vegas needs. People purposely haven’t heard a lot of information about it, and that’s been intentional.

“The team has decided to keep it contained. It’s close to getting out and people knowing all about the next steps.”

After consulting with SCUSA officials, Marks confirmed that the group hopes to build a soccer-specific stadium. Its seating capacity likely would be more than 40,000, but there was no mention of a retractable roof.

World Cup games are played in the summer, which could make a retractable-roof facility a necessity in the desert.

An SCUSA official, when pressed through Marks, said SCUSA applied for the World Cup “because our facility will be well suited for an event of this kind.”

The official, through Marks, added, “we feel confident we can work within the one year (for the official bid process) and then the 9- or 13-year timeframe.

“Sports City USA in Las Vegas will serve as the country’s premier ‘futbol’ stadium to not only support a future U.S. World Cup but also attract other significant world-class soccer events.”

Rothenberg has rich ties to the soccer world. He served as president of World Cup USA 94, which established total (3.6 million) and average (69,000) World Cup attendance records.

No matches were played in Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, but the city played a key role in the event when the World Cup draw was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Dec. 19, 1993.

Actor and comedian Robin Williams plucked plastic balls, representing each country, out of a hopper and compared the 90-minute draw to a big keno game.

James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Barry Manilow and Julio Iglesias performed, and there were taped appearances by Elton John and Rod Stewart. ESPN aired the show, which was broadcast to a television audience of more than 500 million.

It would be a major step for Las Vegas to be in the World Cup spotlight as a site for games and not just entertainment.

“We’re looking at 2018,” Mainka said. “The development of the infrastructure of sports venues could change dramatically. Las Vegas is a perfect example.

“It’s just an example of how relevant the World Cup and the process is, for a city to say we want to be a part of the bid even though our stadium is in the planning stage. It’s a tangible example of the importance Las Vegas sees in potentially hosting World Cup games.”

Rob Miech can be reached at [email protected] or 702-948-7847