![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/744273378_1426161062661905_1629332215439369742_n.png-e1783867978257-660x330.jpeg\")
Photo: USA Rugby<\/p>\nThe United States\u2019 hosting of the 2031 Men\u2019s Rugby World Cup has gained significant momentum as individual candidate regions officially transition from initial intent to formal proposals. Highlighting this progression, two confirmed bids have come in this past week from the state of Missouri, positioning the state as a potential double-host anchor for the global tournament.<\/p>\n
World Rugby will evaluate these incoming submissions over the final months of 2026, providing critical feedback to the 27 applicant markets before final proposals are due in January and the announcement of venues is made in February.<\/p>\n
Photo: USA Rugby<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/logo-world-rugby-simple-thumbnail.png\"){kind=logo}
TWO MISSOURI BIDS MADE<\/p>\n
The St. Louis Sports Commission officially submitted its comprehensive host city bid on September 28, 2026, aiming to bring the world\u2019s third-largest sporting event to eastern Missouri.<\/a> Under this proposal, the region\u2019s matches would be staged at The Dome at America\u2019s Center<\/a> during the prime tournament window of September and October 2031.<\/p>\n Local organizers are leveraging the venue\u2019s proven infrastructure and accessibility, viewing the multi-week tournament as a prime opportunity to replicate the immense economic and cultural benefits seen during recent major North American sporting events.<\/p>\n On the western side of the state, the Kansas City Sports Commission confirmed the submission of its own formal tournament bid on September 30, 2026<\/a>. Organizers plan to utilize Arrowhead Stadium<\/a>, building directly on the city\u2019s experience hosting high-profile soccer matches.<\/p>\n Local rugby advocates point out that the expiration of the Kansas City Chiefs\u2019 current stadium lease in January 2031 gives the city a unique scheduling advantage. This factor, combined with established regional rugby clubs and having previously hosted international test matches, forms the backbone of Kansas City\u2019s case to World Rugby and USA Rugby officials.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Eastern bidders represent a highly dense and populated corridor that stretches from the Northeast down through the American South and Florida. This group features the largest media market in the entire field, New York \/ New Jersey, closely supported by historic, sports-crazed Northeast hubs like Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and the capital region of Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n Pushing into the industrial heartland and Ohio River Valley, cities like Pittsburgh and Cincinnati add robust infrastructure to the mix. Further south, the bid gains massive cultural and economic weight from booming metropolitan regions including Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Birmingham, and New Orleans, before concluding with the internationally minded tourism powerhouses of Miami and Orlando in Florida.<\/p>\n The Western bidders showcase an expansive lineup of massive sports markets spanning the West Coast, Mountain West, and Texas. The Pacific coast is anchoring its bid with heavy hitters like the sprawling Los Angeles Region, the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, and the soccer-and-rugby-mad hub of Seattle, while also extending north across the border to include Vancouver, Canada.<\/p>\n Moving inland, the Mountain West is represented by fast-growing major centers like Denver, Salt Lake City, and the Phoenix metro area (Arizona). The massive state of Texas is holding down the southern reach of this western contingent with Houston, alongside critical midwestern and plains markets like Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and St. Louis that help bridge the geographic gap toward the center of the continent.<\/p>\n City \/ Region Phoenix Atlanta Baltimore Birmingham Boston Charlotte Chicago Cincinnati Denver Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Region Miami Minneapolis Nashville New Orleans New York \/ New Jersey Orlando Philadelphia Pittsburgh Salt Lake City San Diego San Francisco Bay Area Seattle St. Louis Vancouver Washington, D.C. * Population values represent standard Metropolitan Statistical Area estimates to give a sense of market size.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The United States\u2019 hosting of the 2031 Men\u2019s Rugby World Cup has gained significant momentum as individual candidate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":913944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,234606,85],"class_list":["post-913943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-rugby-world-cup-men","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/913943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=913943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/913943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/913944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=913943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=913943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=913943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/logo-usa-thumbnailx.png\"){kind=logo}
CITIES \/ REGIONS SEEKING TO HOST RUGBY WORLD CUP 2031<\/p>\n
\nState \/ Province
\nApproximate Metropolitan Population
\nProfessional Rugby (MLR \/ PRO Rugby)<\/p>\n
\nArizona
\n5.0 Million
\nNone<\/p>\n
\nGeorgia
\n6.3 Million
\nRugby ATL (Former MLR)<\/p>\n
\nMaryland
\n2.8 Million
\nNone<\/p>\n
\nAlabama
\n1.1 Million
\nNone<\/p>\n
\nMassachusetts
\n4.9 Million
\nNew England Free Jacks (Active MLR)<\/p>\n
\nNorth Carolina
\n2.8 Million
\nAnthem Rugby Carolina (Active MLR)<\/p>\n
\nIllinois
\n9.3 Million
\nChicago Hounds (Active MLR)<\/p>\n
\nOhio
\n2.3 Million
\nNone<\/p>\n
\nColorado
\n3.0 Million
\nColorado Raptors (Former MLR) \/ Denver Stampede (Former PRO Rugby)<\/p>\n
\nTexas
\n7.5 Million
\nHouston SaberCats (Former MLR)<\/p>\n
\nMissouri
\n2.2 Million
\nNone<\/p>\n
\nCalifornia
\n12.8 Million
\nRugby FC Los Angeles & LA Giltinis (Former MLR)<\/p>\n
\nFlorida
\n6.1 Million
\nMiami Sharks (Former MLR)<\/p>\n
\nMinnesota
\n3.6 Million
\nNone<\/p>\n
\nTennessee
\n2.1 Million
\nNone<\/p>\n
\nLouisiana
\n1.0 Million
\nNOLA Gold (Former MLR)<\/p>\n
\nNY \/ NJ
\n19.5 Million
\nRugby New York Ironworkers (Former MLR)<\/p>\n
\nFlorida
\n2.8 Million
\nNone<\/p>\n
\nPennsylvania
\n6.2 Million
\nNone<\/p>\n
\nPennsylvania
\n2.4 Million
\nNone<\/p>\n
\nUtah
\n1.3 Million
\nUtah Warriors (Former MLR)<\/p>\n
\nCalifornia
\n3.3 Million
\nCalifornia Legion (Active MLR, formerly San Diego Legion) \/ San Diego Breakers (Former PRO Rugby)<\/p>\n
\nCalifornia
\n4.6 Million
\nSan Francisco Rush (Former PRO Rugby)<\/p>\n
\nWashington
\n4.0 Million
\nSeattle Seawolves (Active MLR)<\/p>\n
\nMissouri
\n2.8 Million
\nNone<\/p>\n
\nBritish Columbia (Canada)
\n2.6 Million
\nNone (Independent Vancouver Highlanders club operates here)<\/p>\n
\nDistrict of Columbia
\n6.3 Million
\nOld Glory DC (Active MLR)<\/p>\n