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The U.S. bid committee to host the World Cup yesterday named 18 cities that could host matches should FIFA award the country the '18 or '22 World Cup. The 18 cities have stadiums with an average capacity of 78,000 seats, which means there would be a total of 5 million tickets for the tournament, 33% more than the '94 World Cup. U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati said, "The magnitude is enormous."

Gulati said the bid committee picked stadiums that mixed "tradition" and "modernity." Another key was geographic diversity, he added. Of the 18 cities chosen, 10 are home to MLS teams. One city that was notably absent was Chicago, but Gulati says the committee opted not to play there in part because of Olympic fatigue following the city's failed bid for the '16 Games. Though some of the stadiums are turf, Gulati said the committee expected to convert them to natural grass for the games. The bid committee could put forward a minimum of 12 host cities and a maximum of 18 cities. All of the cities and stadiums signed contracts with the bid committee. USA Bid Committee President David Downs said the "purpose of offering FIFA the maximum stadiums is to allow them flexibility" to pick and choose the final host sites in conjunction with the bid committee