The USA has launched its joint bid to host the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2027 or 2031, and the women’s Rugby World Cup in 2029.
It’s the first time a country has tabled a bid for both of rugby’s premier global tournaments. The details of the bid were unveiled on Wednesday, after the USA was accepted as a bid candidate in June 2021 by World Rugby.
The bid for the World Cups has seen coast-to-coast interest. The following cities have shown interest in and are currently being considered for participation in the United States’ bid: Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Baltimore; Birmingham, Alabama; Boston; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago; Cincinnati; Dallas; Denver; Houston; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; Minneapolis; Nashville, Tennesse; New Orleans; New York; Orlando, Florida; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Pittsburgh; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Vancouver, British Colombia and Washington, D.C.
The bid also includes the Rose Bowl, and recent Super Bowl host venues such as the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami and Levi’s Stadium in the Bay Area. The prospective organisers predict up to 3.1 million supporters could attend matches in the men’s World Cup.
Organisers are hoping to have 50,000 fans at every match in their bid.
“This is a proud moment as we introduce our vision for a Rugby World Cup on American soil,” USA Rugby World Cup Bid Chair Jim Brown said.
“After working on this for a year now, we are confident in the strength of this bid, the support around us, the cities and stadiums interested in hosting, our country’s top-level infrastructure for large-scale sports events and the opportunity the U.S. population of sports fans presents for rugby’s growth, both domestically and globally.”
Women’s Sports Foundation president Phaidra Knight added: “After my experiences as a player with the USA National Team, I cannot imagine anything that would mean more to rugby players, fans and supporters than hosting a Rugby World Cup in the United States.
“It’s clear that current U.S. rugby fans are excited about the potential of hosting Rugby World Cup events, and that fans of other sports are interested in learning more about rugby. These are two phenomenal groups we’re excited to bring together through this experience.
“Additionally, the United States boasts strong women’s sports infrastructure and interest, two things that are lacking globally, making us uniquely suited to host the 2029 Rugby World Cup.”
World Rugby — the sport’s organising body — have a January 2022 deadline for finalised bids, and USA Rugby CEO Ross Young said a World Cup on American soil would be a “turning point for the game.”
The U.S. would prefer to host the 2031 tournament but are prepared to bid for 2027 as well. They must beat out competition from Australia and Russia for the 2027 World Cup while England are interested in hosting the 2031 tournament. Hosts will be announced in May 2022.