How much has the U.S. become a soccer country? Enough for an unconfirmed rumor about the host venue for the 2026 World Cup Final to become a viral sensation in just a few hours. 

A report from The Sun—a tabloid in London—reporting AT&T Stadium in North Texas beat out MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for the final tournament match swept across the American media landscape and was almost immediately picked up by dozens of other news outlets. The problem: FIFA insists it has not finalized its choice, and the match schedule for the upcoming World Cup won’t be announced until Feb. 4.

“We continue to work with FIFA leadership to lay the groundwork as we prepare to host the largest FIFA World Cup to date and are eager, like the other host cities, to find out what matches will be assigned to us,” said Monica Paul, executive director of the Dallas Sports Commission.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a passionate advocate for the MetLife Stadium bid, also said this week he believes that the venue remains in the hunt for the coveted final, with no notification either way made from FIFA.

“I think our odds remain about where they’ve been. I would put it plus-or-minus 50/50,” Murphy told The Bergen Record. 

As the anticipation for FIFA’s decision mounts, both markets continue to do everything they can to tip the scales. Dallas is leaning into an unprecedented multi-venue, festival proposal that would incorporate the neighboring Texas Rangers ballparks, both past and present, in addition to AT&T Stadium. MetLife Stadium is removing seats in an effort to accommodate FIFA’s wider field requirements. 

The battle for the World Cup Final also involves many of the sports industry’s most prominent figures, including Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and FC Dallas president Dan Hunt. 

Is Texas back? 

The Longhorns were one play away from reaching their first national championship game in the College Football Playoff era. But while there’s still at least some work to be done between the white lines, Texas continues to make its mark off the field. The university’s athletic department reported an NCAA record $271 million in operating revenue during its 2023 fiscal year, according to USA Today. That’s nearly $32 million more than the school’s 2022 revenue and more than the previous high of $251.6 million reported by Ohio State in 2022. 

That time period ended June 30, 2023, so it doesn’t include this past season’s Big 12 championship and playoff appearance. During the 2022-23 athletics seasons, Texas opened a new $375 million basketball arena, the Moody Center, and advanced to the Elite Eight in the men’s NCAA Tournament. 

The school’s revenue should continue to grow when it reports figures from the ongoing 2024 fiscal year, thanks to the football team’s success. And this summer, Texas will move to the SEC, along with Oklahoma, where the schools will see an uptick of more than $20 million in media rights revenue.

Success in the SEC

The 2023 fiscal year was also a record-breaking one for the athletic departments at LSU and Tennessee, which both topped $200 million in revenue for the first time. LSU’s revenue was $200.46 million, while Tennessee’s came in at $202.09 million.

The Oakland Athletics are touring ballparks this week from Sacramento to Salt Lake City in search of a temporary home.

The A’s contract with the Oakland Coliseum expires at the end of the 2024 season, and its new stadium in Las Vegas isn’t set to open until 2028.

In the meantime, team executives toured Sutter Health Park on Thursday, the home of the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate Sacramento River Cats. Officials will also check out Smith’s Ballpark, home of the Los Angeles Angels’ Triple-A affiliate Salt Lake Bees, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Also under consideration is Greater Nevada Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate Reno Aces.

Team president Dave Kaval had previously said likely options would be to share Oracle Park with the Giants, head to the Las Vegas Ballpark of the A’s Triple-A affiliate Aviators, or extend the lease at the Coliseum. All of those scenarios are still possible, the Review-Journal reported. Staying in the Bay Area would allow the A’s to keep their local media rights deal with NBC Sports California.

A possible reason the team is expanding the search to other minor league parks is the downside associated with each of their original options: The Las Vegas ballpark is outdoors in the desert heat, sharing with the Giants could get complicated, and the team is eager to get out of Oakland.

The A’s will need approval from the MLB and the MLB Players Association before settling on their next move.

MLB owners unanimously approved the team’s move to Las Vegas in November after years of failed attempts to build a new ballpark in the area, worsened by recent low attendance and back-to-back last-place finishes in the AL West.