USMNT choose $250m Great Park project as World Cup base
· Yahoo Sports
The USMNT’s decision to use Great Park is not just another detail. It is a sign of the standards being put in place for a home World Cup.
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The United States have chosen Great Park as their training base for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and there is more to that decision than simply picking a convenient location.
This is not just a temporary pitch with a badge on it. Great Park is a serious sports complex with proper infrastructure and a backstory that gives the choice real meaning.
Great Park gives USMNT more than a routine camp venue
What sets Great Park apart is that it provides the USMNT with a genuine football environment. The centrepiece is the Championship Soccer Stadium, backed by earlier plans that included a 5,000-seat stadium, a 53-acre first phase, more than $250 million in costs, and a 175-acre sports park plan.
That matters. World Cup preparation should feel permanent, controlled and professional, not borrowed. Matt Crocker calling the facilities “simply outstanding” only reinforces the obvious point.
The USMNT need a base that looks and functions like part of the tournament build-up. Great Park gives them that, while also keeping the camp rooted in Southern California.
Irvine’s former military base has become a World Cup stage facility
What makes this venue even more interesting is what it used to be. Great Park is built on land that was once part of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, which closed in 1999.
That transformation is the reason this venue stands out. A former military base has become a modern civic sports hub, now trusted with a national team preparing for the biggest football event staged in the country.
Great Park should not be treated as a footnote in the USMNT’s World Cup planning. Its scale, investment and reinvention make it one of the more interesting choices around the team.
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