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World Cup in Tampa? Think '4 Super Bowls'

Staff photo by ANDY JONES

"Picture four Super Bowls happening in one city over the course of three weeks," said Farrukh Quraishi, a former player with the Tampa Rowdies soccer team, overall soccer booster and now officially one of a dozen corporate leaders trying to make Tampa one of those World Cup host cities.

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By RICHARD MULLINS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 7, 2009

Updated: 10/07/2009 11:37 am

TAMPA - Farrukh Quraishi spends a great deal of time helping Americans envision just how big a deal the World Cup soccer games are, and what the 2018 or 2022 Cup could do for a host U.S. city.

"Picture four Super Bowls happening in one city over the course of three weeks," said Quraishi, a former player with the Tampa Rowdies soccer team, overall soccer booster and now officially one of a dozen corporate leaders trying to make Tampa one of those World Cup host cities.

Recent World Cup games attracted more than 2 million international visitors to the host nation. Even if Tampa hosts only first-round matches, Quraishi said, the region could expect major outdoor events at a half-dozen parks for watching matches on Jumbotrons, plus several festivals akin to the NFL Experience outside Tampa's last Super Bowl.

"These would be in places like Vinoy Park in St. Pete and Curtis Hixon Park in Tampa, so people could watch the game live for free," Quraishi said. "This would not be just one game inside a stadium for people who bought tickets."

Some of Tampa's top local executives and politicians Wednesday publicly signed on to the project and will try to woo the governing body FIFA into bringing World Cup matches to the Bay area.

"This is too big an opportunity for the area to pass up," said Charles Sykes, president and CEO of Sykes Enterprises, one of the world's largest outsource call center companies. Sykes is now the Tampa Bay Bid Committee chairman for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Either year's cup would be great, he said.

Hosting matches in 2018 or 2022 may sound far in the future, Quraishi acknowledges, but some key decisions are already being made. Tampa's role hinges on a series of decisions between this May and 2013, any one of which could expand the region's role to a major venue or shrink it to nothing.

Tampa was among 38 U.S. cities that applied to be part of a U.S. bid for the cup. Now that list has been culled to 27 U.S. cities, Tampa included. This May, U.S. soccer officials will reduce the list again to 18 cities and submit a formal "Bid Book" to FIFA.

FIFA will then send inspection teams to all global cities that could host matches. Then on December 2, 2010, FIFA will announce a host nation. Then the final selection of cities will be made five years in advance.

South Africa will have the next World Cup in 2010 and Brazil, the following one, in 2014.

When the cup comes to a nation, a dozen or more cities may host several first-round matches. Bigger stadiums host the later matches, including the semifinals and the final.

If the bid by the U.S. and Tampa prevails, people here can expect more than one match at Raymond James Stadium. Each venue would host four to six games over two to three weeks in June and July of the cup year.

FIFA now requires a long list of events surrounding each match, like fan festivals, parties and games – making the cup an ongoing carnival of soccer that takes over a city for the better part of a month. And that's not including the many months of preparation.

Germany hosted the Cup in 2006 and reported $2.6 billion in economic impact, with 2 million tourists from other countries. World Cup officials tout a potential $100 million in economic impact per game, with an overall impact of $6.4 billion for a host nation.

For now, Tampa's bid is largely in the hands of Quraishi, Sykes and several other executives and local politicians. Quraishi was the chief manager of cup games held in Orlando in 1994, and one of several people trying to revive soccer in Tampa.

Sykes adds international expertise; his company employs 34,000 people in 23 countries.

As with estimates of economic impact from the Super Bowl and the Olympics, some of the financial figures are in the eye of the beholder. But Tampa bid committee members point out that ESPN/ABC and Univision purchased U.S. television rights for the 2010 and 2014 World Cup for $425 million, a record price.

Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at (813) 259-7919.

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