Why aren't any World Cup games being played at Allegiant Stadium? Doesn't it make the most money of any stadium in the world? It seems odd that none of the games are being played in Las Vegas, especially considering that six games are being played in Kansas City and games are being played in 16 cities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
It's true that Allegiant Stadium generates a massive amount revenue, pulling in more than $281 million in gross live-event revenue last year. However, it's not the highest-grossing stadium in the world. That distinction goes to Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City.
As for why Allegiant isn't involved in this summer's World Cup, that's because the plans for the 2026 FIFA World Cup were finalized in 2017, before ground was even broken on the stadium, which was completed on July 31, 2020.
Tourism leaders at the time, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, held meetings with the FIFA bid team back then and determined that there were too many uncertainties surrounding the stadium. They also learned that the bid requirements were "too costly and flexible in favor of the event's organizers" for their taste.
The city would have had to pony up more than $100 million in upgrades to host just the preliminary-round group games, as well as provide private practice facilities for all the teams that would have played here.
Finally and perhaps most importantly, Allegiant wasn't planned to and still doesn't meet FIFA requirements for World Cup matches, due to the way the field grass is moved in and out on a massive retractable tray weighing nearly 10,000 tons. The tray, reportedly, is too narrow to meet FIFA's pitch dimension and run-off requirements. Expanding the field would require tearing out thousands of lower-bowl seats and take roughly nine months of construction.
So tourism officials declined the opportunity to host the World Cup and it's anyone's guess if it will in 2038, the earliest the quadrennial tournament could return to North America.
