The Philadelphia Union soccer team in Chester has offered up a $1 million grant in the hopes of attracting the World Cup to Philadelphia in 2026, writes Kennedy Rose for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Another $1 million grant came from the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association and the Philadelphia

Comcast Corp. executive David L. Cohen chairs the bid committee.

He recently told a crowd of business leaders at a Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia Mayoral Luncheon to work on impressing the FIFA so Philadelphia will be picked to host the games.

The United States, Canada and Mexico were chosen to host the 2026 World Cup, but only 10 U.S. cities will be selected to host games. Unfortunately, there are 17 cities hoping to make the cut.

Philadelphia is offering Lincoln Financial Field’s 69,000 seats as a venue.

“Few, if any, U.S. cities bidding have the major event pedigree that Philadelphia now has,” Cohen said.

Each of the 10 selected cities will host at least five matches.

The economic impact is similar to hosting the Super Bowl, Cohen said.  Boston Consulting Group estimates $70 million in visitor spending among 450,000 attending.

Read more about Philadelphia’s effort to host the 2026 World Cup here.

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