Detroit watches World Cup from sidelines
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images
Detroit has built a reputation for landing major sports events, but the city will be watching from the sidelines when the World Cup kicks off next month.
The big picture: Detroit declined to pursue becoming a host city during the 2017 bidding process. One obstacle was FIFA's requirement that Ford Field install natural grass, along with an irrigation and drainage system, local tourism officials say.
What they're saying: "Cities were being asked to make significant long-term commitments without full visibility into what those obligations would ultimately entail," Marty Dobek, executive director of the Detroit Sports Commission, tells Axios.
Fast forward nearly a decade, and Detroit's decision has taken on new meaning as host cities grapple with the cost and complexity of staging soccer's biggest event.
- Detroit missed some "prestige on a global stage," but "we're also probably missing out on a lot of headaches as well," Detroit City FC CEO Sean Mann tells Axios.
State of play: In the runup to the World Cup's June 11 start, host cities, states and corporate donors have spent tens of millions on transit, security and other World Cup logistics, the New York Times reports.
Yes, but: Detroit officials do not view the demands of hosting this year's World Cup as validation for their caution in submitting a bid years ago.
- "I think we can look at Detroit, and our 2017 decision was about specific conditions at the moment, not a judgment on the event," Dobek says.
Zoom out: Chicago is another major American sports city that declined to seek host city status. In 2018, then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel withdrew from the process, citing "major unknowns that put our city and taxpayers at risk."
The intrigue: As Detroit prepares to host the NCAA Men's Final Four at Ford Field next year, the city is now "more capable" and better positioned to pursue future global events, Dobek says.
Zoom in: Even without the World Cup, Detroit's soccer culture continues to grow.
- Work is underway in Corktown at DCFC's new 15,000-seat stadium, which will open next year.
- The club is seizing on World Cup enthusiasm to offer a preview of its stadium suites in about two weeks, followed by a ceremonial stadium groundbreaking near the end of the World Cup.
- Further details will be released soon, Mann says.
Go deeper: The casual fan's World Cup cheat sheet