The 2026 World Cup may not be coming to Southern California if SoFi Stadium doesn't host the final match or "or another game of significant heft," according to the Los Angeles Times' Kevin Baxter.

Baxter wrote AT&T Stadium in Arlington Texas, has emerged as the likely candidate for the 2026 World Cup final, much to the dismay of Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke:

"Kroenke, meanwhile, wants the prestige of staging a World Cup game at SoFi. But not just any game. With FIFA sucking up the majority of the revenue that should rightly go to the local organizers, Kroenke stands to lose out on millions for every World Cup game played at his stadium.

"A group-stage game between Cameroon-Sweden, or even a quarterfinal, doesn't have the cache to make that loss worthwhile. So Kroenke wants the final, and he apparently feels so strongly about it that he may be willing to take his stadium and go home if it doesn't get the final, or another game of significant heft such as the U.S. national team's opener or a semifinal."

To that end, Kroenke could take SoFi Stadium out of World Cup consideration, and were that to happen, the tournament would be at the risk of missing the Los Angeles market entirely.

From the moment the U.S. won a joint bid for the 2026 World Cup, many fans will have assumed the event would make a stop in L.A. It's the second-most populous city in the country, and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena was home to the 1994 men's World Cup final and 1999 women's final.

Because of that, one might assume Kroenke has a lot of leverage. Baxter explained why that isn't the case.

SoFi Stadium's capacity falls below the 80,000-seat threshold FIFA typically maintains for a World Cup final. The organization may not like having a major spectacle within the Pacific Time Zone, either, because of the eight-hour time difference with much of Europe.

Kroenke built SoFi Stadium at a cost of $5.5 billion in part so it could be a showpiece venue to attract events like the World Cup final. In this case, his options might be limited.