CHESTER — The Philadelphia Union last week unveiled its newest feat of construction, the $100 million WSFS Bank Sportsplex. And while in isolation that event and that edifice have nothing to do with the 2026 FIFA World Cup that will visit Canada, Mexico and the United States, in truth everything happening in soccer for the next 12 months has at least something to do with the World Cup.
The World Cup in 1994 is, in short, the reason MLS exists, the formation of a first-division league a requisite from FIFA in awarding that tournament after decades of abortive attempts at American professional soccer. With MLS established, growing and burgeoning into one of the top 10 or 15 leagues in the world three decades later, the 2026 World Cup can only be an accelerant to growth.
The World Cup is a massive force — MLS Commissioner Don Garber called it, “a seismic explosion” — that will exert itself on the American soccer landscape. The Union just built a much bigger and fancier lever to capture it, compared to what it had before and what most of its peer markets offer.
“I think you’ll see us expose this to a much wider audience, both here and internationally,” owner Jay Sugarman said. “We want to be part of that international conversation. The World Cup will no doubt help us in that there’ll be hopefully a top 10 (program) here training every day. And if you think about that word inspiration, you hope you have some of these young kids watch that World Cup and go, that’s what I want to do.”
Even before unveiling the Sportsplex last week, the Union were slated to be a base camp for a national team next year. As part the U.S.’s joint bid process, 62 potential training sites have been put forth to FIFA for teams to establish as their home base on the continent, with Chester one of the initial batch of 15.
Lincoln Financial Field will get six games in next year’s tournament, and it’s a convenient location on the periphery of a cluster of stadiums stretching up to Toronto.
This summer, Chester served as the training base for Chelsea, which went on to win the first expanded FIFA Club World Cup.
Chelsea played three games, including a July 4 quarterfinal, in Philadelphia. The facilities garnered rave reviews from the club, even mired as they were in the late June swelter. As Garber said in prepared remarks at the unveiling of the Sportsplex, national teams may well be bidding for the chance to call Chester home next year.
This has been, writ large, a summer of learning for stakeholders in MLS and U.S. soccer in general.
The Union weren’t directly involved in the eight Club World Cup games in Philadelphia, a joint production between the Eagles and FIFA. But the interest in soccer that the Club World Cup tapped into should’ve been illuminating.
Philadelphia drew two of the top 10 attendances in the tournament, with Real Madrid and Red Bull Salzburg bringing 64,811 fans in the group stage and Chelsea-Palmeiras drawing 65,782 for the quarterfinal. The eight games attracted 346,000 spectators for an average of 43,307, despite less than half of the teams being major European outfits.
From an MLS perspective, the FIFA Club World Cup hit soccer-specific venues like Nashville and Cincinnati that won’t be part of next year’s World Cup. They offer a different view of American soccer.
“I think the Club World Cup came together fast,” Garber said. “And I think there were a lot of concerns that it wouldn’t come off the way that everybody expected it to. And I think it showed that not every game is going to be the Super Bowl. Not every game is going to be the World Cup final. There were some games that had teams that were just building their brands and were playing at times that weren’t the most attractive.
“FIFA is going to have to manage some of that when the World Cup comes. But when the tournament got momentum in the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals and the semifinals and the final, they were among the biggest sports events I’ve ever been to.”
Garber raved about the environment at MetLife Stadium, which drew 70,556 and 77,542 for semifinals, then 81,118 for the final between Chelsea and reigning European champion Paris-Saint Germain. Garber said he is “very pleased” with how FIFA is working with MLS clubs to leverage the World Cup for clubs like the Union, whether games are in each market or via soccer-related activations.
The Club World Cup revealed how many soccer fans this country contains, many of whom MLS might not be capturing. The World Cup is another avenue toward getting them in the doors.
“When all those big clubs leave, the Philadelphia Union are right here in town,” Garber said. “And their job is to be sure that they can capture the interest of those people, through data, through proper marketing, through facilities, a great live experience, but also for a thing that could excite them.”
The Union’s investment in the Sportsplex wasn’t contingent on a World Cup boost. But it fits neatly into the plan. More attention on soccer means more people interested in pursuing the sport, which means seeking out the best programs and facilities.
The Union have a shiny, $100 million new piece of concrete-and-glass evidence that they are that place.
“There’s just no way to replicate that,” Sugarman said. “The buzz that happens around the World Cup brings its own level of excitement. These facilities are amazing, but now we need to activate them, and the World Cup will be a real chance to put the best athletes in the world on our fields and have our players and our community see that and go, that’s what I want to do. I want to be that. How do I get there?”
Source: Berkshire mont
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