Five cities in North Texas are on the list of potential base camps: A training site and place for teams to stay during the group stage of competition. It’s where they’ll train, rest and prepare for their matches. Each training site is paired with a nearby hotel: Toyota Stadium in Frisco with The Westin Stonebriar Golf Resort Spa TCU – Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium Fort Worth with the Sheraton Fort Worth Downtown Hotel The University of North Texas in Denton with the Embassy Suites by Hilton Denton Convention Center, Mansfield Stadium in Mansfield with the Hilton Garden Inn Dallas/Arlington South, and Dallas Baptist University with Westin Dallas Downtown. Ryan Peck, Deputy Athletics Director for External Relations, says several countries have toured TCU but declined to say which ones. “[It’s] very hush hush and I think the teams want to keep it very silent, too, because they want the privacy. So, when they come through, they look at it from a security standpoint, and we think about where will the media set up or how do we have to block off to keep fans away?” Peck explained. Some top-tier teams have already selected their base camp locations. Germany has chosen North Carolina. France has chosen Tennessee. Both England and Argentina will be based in Kansas City, despite the defending champions having two matches at ATT Stadium. While none of the North Texas sites have been selected so far, most of the 48 World Cup teams have not made an official announcement. Matt Duce, Director of Athletics at Dallas Baptist University, another potential base camp, says its facilities have been by several nations. “Proximity to downtown Dallas, the playing surface, the pitch, we feel like it’s a world-class facility,” Duce said. The University of North Texas in Denton is also in the running and so is Toyota Stadium in Frisco. Another team base camp option is Mansfield Stadium, where crews are racing to finish construction before teams come to town. The stadium is the future home of the North Texas Soccer Club and is expected to open this summer. “We’re ripe and ready to go,” said Theresa Cohagen, Executive Director of Community Engagement for Visit Mansfield. Cohagen and Mansfield Mayor Pro Tem Todd Tenori say the stadium will be ready to host a World Cup team. “We’re talking about having a possible 50-100,000 additional people in our city for 60 days, so the economic impact is off the chart,” Tenori said. Tours in Mansfield, they say, ramped up after the World Cup draw in December when we learned which teams will play in north Texas. Now the suspense over which squads may settle here. ...read more read less