USA: Hosting World Cup worth billions
NEW YORK - The 2018 or 2022 World Cups would provide a $5 billion economic impact and create as many as 100,000 jobs in the United States, the U.S. Bid Committee said on Tuesday.
The U.S is one of 10 bidders looking to host either the 2018 or 2022 tournaments.
U.S. football president Sunil Gulati presided over meetings in New York to discuss the campaign and develop plans for the final push leading up to the decision on the hosts for the two tournaments by world football's governing body FIFA in December 2010.
The high-powered committee includes luminaries from politics and business like former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"The meeting marks an important milestone for our bid as we now start the second and final stage of our bid campaign," Gulati said in a statement.
The committee said it had discussed a recent study conducted by consultants that estimated a successful bid would have an economic impact of $5 billion and would create between 65,000 and 100,000 new jobs during the preparation and operation of the tournament in the year of the event.
The committee also said there are currently 27 cities and 32 stadia under consideration as host venues.
The list would need to be trimmed to the maximum of 18 cities that can be included in the formal bid book due to be handed to FIFA next May.
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