Jacksonville in running to host Copa America games

[ProjectMaximus]

Looks like Jacksonville will not be a host. Orlando got the nod along with 9 other cities.

http://www.abc15.com/sports/sports-blogs-local/copa-america-2016-phoenix-stadium-chosen-for-special-edition-of-south-american-soccer-championship

[Adam White]

Well, that's a shame. I guess it makes sense that they are holding it in Orlando. It would've been nice to have got a match in Jax, though.

[I-10east]

The COPA venues are...

Citrus Bowl in Orlando
Centurylink in Seattle
MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford
Rose Bowl in Pasadena
Gillette Stadium in Foxboro
Soldier Field in Chicago
NRG Stadium in Houston
Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia
University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale

Orlando is probably a benefactor of Miami not having their renovations ready in time for the games.   

http://seattle.cbslocal.com/2015/11/19/orlando-seattle-among-10-us-cities-hosting-copa-centenario/

[RattlerGator]

Jacksonville winning one of these would have been a huge upset. We seriously punched above our weight class in getting an NFL franchise -- this is a historic sporting event that reasonably sought out venues that are located in major transportation hubs with easy access via airplane travel. For comparison, our airport is approximately ranked in the mid-50s.

Location and airport rank:

Citrus Bowl in Orlando
     Airport: #15

Centurylink in Seattle
     Airport: #13

MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford
     Airport: #5, 14 & 20

Rose Bowl in Pasadena
     Airport: #2

Gillette Stadium in Foxboro
     Airport: #18

Soldier Field in Chicago
     Airport: #3

NRG Stadium in Houston
     Airport: #11

Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia
     Airport: #19

University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale
    Airport: #10

Atlanta? No. Charlotte? No. Airports number 1 & 8. Honestly, Jacksonville had no real shot to host one of these.

[I-10east]

I love for us to have big sporting events in Jax (no matter what they are) but personally, will I lose any sleep because a South American soccer league isn't gonna come rolling in town next year? Not at all. 

[ProjectMaximus]

I love for us to have big sporting events in Jax (no matter what they are) but personally, will I lose any sleep because a South American soccer league isn't gonna come rolling in town next year? Not at all. 

Lol, that's not what it was, but I get your point. Still, this would have been far more significant than anything else we've ever hosted save for the Super Bowl (possibly). Yeah, it was a long shot.

[I-10east]

Lol, that's not what it was, but I get your point.

Excuse my ignorance, is it not 'futbol' from South America?

[ProjectMaximus]

Lol it's indeed the sport of soccer but you made it sound like one of those professional overseas soccer leagues doing an exhibition tour of North America with a few of their teams. This is more like a World Cup-lite. 16 nations (half of the world cup) from 2 of the 6 FIFA conferences sending their top national teams for a World Cup-style tournament. If the economic impact is akin to a World Cup-lite then it is about as huge as it gets (well short of the actual World Cup if we can land that) And the US is competing...it's not like this has nothing to do with us.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_América_Centenario