Although details are still in relatively short supply for the first-ever expanded Club World Cup that will be held from June 15-July 13 of 2025 in the United States, a recent report from the Athletic says FIFA and Concacaf are working together to limit how much overlap there is between that tournament and the Gold Cup.
The plan, according to the report, is for the Club World Cup to be mostly staged on the East Coast with the Gold Cup being played mostly on the West Coast. That would seemingly eliminate the possibility of Lumen Field serving as one of the event's main venues, but the report does suggest there's at least the possibility of a carveout that would allow the Sounders to host. Unfortunately, it's unclear if that's more speculation or some sort of official stance.
With regard to the Club World Cup, some exceptions could be made. For example, it would make sense for MLS side Seattle Sounders, winners of the CONCACAF Champions [League] in 2022, to play at least one match at home. Additionally, cities in Texas, which is located in the U.S.’ central time zone, could be named Gold Cup host cities.
Further working against the possibility of additional games being played at Lumen is the status of the playing surface. As things stand now, new FieldTurf is being installed sometime in the next six weeks. First & Goal, who manages the stadium, has committed to installing permanent grass ahead of the 2026 World Cup, but all indications are that they aren't planning to do it any earlier. While temporary grass has been regularly installed to accommodate various friendlies and international matches, FIFA has historically required permanent grass for its highest-profile tournaments. Given that, allowing the Sounders to host a match or two might have been the biggest compromise they could have reasonably hoped for.
