Rugby World Cup in Minnesota? Minneapolis is trying to make it happen

Minneapolis has advanced as one of more than two dozen cities being considered to host the first-ever Rugby World Cup hosted in the United States.

World Rugby confirmed that 27 cities have advanced to the applicant phase of the selection process for the event, a big milestone.

The event will be played in 2031 but the planning for it has already begun.

Other cities up for consideration include: Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles Region, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, New York/New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, Vancouver, and Washington, D.C.

The sport’s governing body says it and USA Rugby will evaluate each city’s proposal and consider the options over the next 14 months. However, team base feasibility visits are already underway, and venue evaluations are expected to start later this month.

At the end of next year, the list of cities being considered will get trimmed before the process advances to the candidate phase. Host cities will then be announced starting in 2027.

The Rugby World Cup is the third-largest sporting event on the globe, World Rugby says.

Minneapolis has already hosted several other major sporting events in recent years, including the MLB All-Star Game in 2014, the Super Bowl in 2018, the NCAA men’s and women’s Final Four in 2019 and 2022 respectively, and the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials in 2024. More, including the IIHF World Junior Championship and Summer Special Olympics are set for the coming months.
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