Staff report
First the Olympics snub, and now this: Chicago is not on the list of 18 cities that U.S. Soccer's bid committee will submit to FIFA in its efforts to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022.
After an eight-month host city selection process, the committee Tuesday announced the list of cities that will be included in its official bid book to FIFA on May 14. The cities chosen were Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C.
First the Olympics snub, and now this: Chicago is not on the list of 18 cities that U.S. Soccer's bid committee will submit to FIFA in its efforts to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022.
After an eight-month host city selection process, the committee Tuesday announced the list of cities that will be included in its official bid book to FIFA on May 14. The cities chosen were Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C.
Rejected along with Chicago were Charlotte, Cleveland, Detroit, Jacksonville, Oakland, Orlando, St. Louis
and San Francisco. Four of those cities (Chicago, Detroit, Orlando and San Francisco) were chosen when the United States hosted the World Cup in
1994.
"The United States is equipped and ready to offer FIFA the opportunity to host a passionate and successful World Cup where fans, teams, partners and media can experience the beautiful game at its highest level while allowing the world soccer family to focus on the utmost mission of the game that benefits the world as a whole," said Sunil Gulati, the chairman of the USA Bid Committee and president of U.S. Soccer.
FIFA's will select the host nation for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups on Dec. 2.
"The United States is equipped and ready to offer FIFA the opportunity to host a passionate and successful World Cup where fans, teams, partners and media can experience the beautiful game at its highest level while allowing the world soccer family to focus on the utmost mission of the game that benefits the world as a whole," said Sunil Gulati, the chairman of the USA Bid Committee and president of U.S. Soccer.
FIFA's will select the host nation for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups on Dec. 2.
Register with Chicago Tribune and receive Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks newsletters for free. 
When sports news breaks, be the first to know. (To get alerts on a mobile device, text CHISPORTS to 31286.). 
I helped to coordinate the World Cup in 1994 when working for Keeshin Charter Service. It was a huge effort and opening game was almost exclusively booked to German and Argentinean fans. I would bet the US Soccer Federation is looking at both past experience and current conditions in their decision making process – and being responsible to the teams and their fans in the process.
For more than a year, we coordinated transportation and hotel rooms – booking those rooms on behalf of foreign travelers only to have the hotels in Chicago jack up their rates so high that almost everyone decided to cancel their downtown hotel reservations and book far-out suburban hotels at one-quarter the rate of the downtown hotels. Even when they factored in the additional costs for charter services, it made financial sense to avoiding both the high hotel taxes and jacked-up rates put in place by operators wanting to take advantage of a world-class event.
Chicago’s hotels weren’t the only entities to gouge the out of towners either, while charter busses and limos routinely are routinely required to pay for parking passes, just like passenger vehicles, the park district - still in control of the parking garages at that time, jacked up the per-game parking rate for high capacity vehicles to between $50 and $200 per vehicle - adding additional greed costs for those visiting Chicago.
It's no wonder the US Soccer Federation chose to ignore Chicago this time around: between the costs of the unions, the greed factor implemented by everyone who can find a way to levy an excessive charge for services, and the fact that even the people who live here can no longer pay for Daley's political crony’s follies, they will do much better elsewhere!
Remember, election day is only a few weeks away. Vote the bastards out of office and replace every one of them. If Daley decides to run for another term, get rid of him, too. Let’s clean house in Illinois. Let’s put some common sense and fiduciary responsibility back into politics, balance the State’s budget and make Chicago and the rest of Illinois a reasonable place to live again.
The Tribune should investigate this more, this is terrible
More information on why it's Chicago's own fault
http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2010/01/12/mayor-daley-denies-chicago-world-cup-opportunity/
Chicago has become too expensive for everyone, residents and visitors alike.
I'm trying to figure out if I should be more pissed at US Soccer or the city government. Or both.
Let me get this straight. 18 cities in the US were on the list and not Chicago? With arguably the largest immigrant population including Mexicans, Poles, Brits, etc, a place like Nashville is on the final cut and not Chicago? 8 of the cities don't currently have MLS teams let alone one that averaged 15,000 fans a game. Hosted World Cup qualifiers but couldn't be trusted with a World Cup game? STupid.
Goes to show what a mistake the city and state made betting the farm on Soldier Field. To spend all that money on a stadium that's certainly too small for the World Cup and frankly too small for the Bears as well ranks as a huge missed opportunity for the city.
Ouch. That's gotta hurt.
No news here because the U.S isn't going to get to host anyway so whatever...
lol...@ Patrick...and yeah PAC, the HQ is right down the street from me. It's an old mansion too. Nice looking place full of cushy jobs, no doubt.
The sad thing is that the U.S. Soccer Federation is headquartered on S. Prairie Ave. in Chicago. No home field advantage I suppose.
Yeah, they looked at the union rates for Soldier Field and ran away. We are the laughingstock of the World. No Olympics, conventions leaving and the unions sit there and rake in the money, and have their members steal purses(see yesterdays's article!)