The Dallas Sports Commission had previously said that four matches were expected to bring $415 million to the area. Now, they’ve estimated all nine matches.
DALLAS — The 2026 FIFA World Cup is going to be the biggest spectacle the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex has ever seen.
It’s been said that each World Cup match is the financial equivalent to hosting the Super Bowl, and AT&T Stadium has nine matches on its slate – more than any of the other 15 World Cup venues. Jerry World will host five group stage matches, two round of 32 matches, one round of 16 match and a semi-final match.
The Dallas Sports Commission had previously estimated that four World Cup matches would bring $415 million, and said they were still working on estimates for all nine matches, including the semi-final and all the additional fanfare in the area. Well, those numbers are in.
Nine World Cup matches, ancillary events, base camps, training venues, vendors, commercial affiliates and broadcasters (hosting the International Broadcast Center, a.k.a. the IBC) is estimated to bring $1.5 billion to $2.1 billion in direct economic impact, according to the Dallas Sports Commission. Dallas was named as the host of the IBC in early March, which will bring approximately 4,000 to 5,000 people – including approximately 2,000 international broadcast journalists – to DFW.
The IBC will be housed in the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center (KBHCC) in downtown Dallas. In December 2024, city council approved a $15 million package intended to fund the necessary upgrades for the building to meet FIFA’s regulations. Dallas also hosted the IBC in 1994, when the World Cup was last in the United States and was held in Fair Park.
According to the Dallas Sports Commission, the IBC will have exclusive use of the KBHCC from Jan. 14, 2026 to Aug. 26, 2026. The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off on June 11 in Mexico City, Mexico and will culminate with the World Cup Final in East Rutherford, N.J., on July 19.
DFW will experience more than 100,000 visitors per day during the tournament, according to city officials.
The metroplex has five potential base camps – where visiting nations will train and essentially call their home during the World Cup – each with a pairing hotel:
- Dallas Baptist University (Dallas) – Westin Dallas Downtown
- FC Dallas’ Toyota Stadium (Frisco) – Renaissance Dallas at Plano Legacy West
- University of Dallas (Irving) – Omni Las Colinas Hotel
- TCU (Fort Worth) – Sheraton Fort Worth Downtown Hotel
- University of North Texas (Denton) – Embassy Suites by Hilton Denton Convention Center
Other possible training venues include Cotton Bowl Stadium in Fair Park and Southern Methodist University.
The FIFA World Cup Fan Festival in Dallas will be held at Fair Park. There will also be “fan activations” on days when games aren’t being played, such as a concert series. The fan activation locations are still to be officially determined – but city officials previously named Arlington, Fort Worth and Frisco as potential activation sites, pending contract negotiations. A map previously shared by the Dallas Sports Commission shows the Stockyards as the site for Fort Worth’s activation post, and listed the location in between Frisco and The Colony as “TBD.”
Both Cosm, the immersive entertainment dome that airs Premier League matches, and TOCA Social, the Topgolf-like soccer entertainment venue set to open in the summer of 2025, are in the area at The Grandscape.
FIFA World Cup Fan Festival: By the numbers
FIFA Fan Fest will be held in every host city.
City leaders estimate that 39 days in Dallas will attract at least over a million fans, a similar number to what Fair Park sees during the State Fair of Texas every year. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar averaged 70,000 fans per day, with the largest daily attendance at 98,000. That would bring an estimated 2.7 million people to DFW over the course of those 39 days, if it held up to those standards.
City officials said they assume, however, there will be an average capacity of 35,000 people at any given time. That average would yield approximately 1.4 million people in 39 days.
For context, the State Fair of Texas brought in 2.3 million people in 24 days, with the highest attended day being Oct. 7, the Red River Rivalry, seeing just over 208,000. Weekend days throughout the State Fair of Texas see more than 122,000 people per day.
What is the highest-attended FIFA World Cup of all-time?
In 1994, when the World Cup was last in the United States, 68,600 people attended World Cup matches, on average, according to Statista. That record stands to this day.
The World Cup with the next highest average attendance, per Statista, was the 1950 World Cup in Brazil with 60,700 people per match. Brazil’s 2014 iteration came in third with 53,700 people per match.
2026 FIFA World Cup: What are the next steps?
Regional planning meetings for 2025 are set with 18 focus groups and subcommittees meeting monthly. Among those include:
- FIFA North Texas Safety & Security Team
- FIFA Staff
- FIFA / North Texas Regional Focus Group
- Expert Planning Teams (EPT)
- Regional Partnership Focus Meetings
- IBC, Tournament Operation Center (TOC), Fan Fest, AT&T Stadium
- Federal Coordination Team Identified by DHS
Transportation and Mobility
The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) secured third party Kimberly-Horn to develop the Regional Mobility Plan draft submitted to FIFA in March, according to city leaders.
The strategy will rely on the new $400 million interchange at State Highway 360 and I-30, bus bridges, express lanes for attendees headed to the games, managed lanes on I-30, charter buses and utilization of the Trinity Railway Express, according to WFAA’s partners at The Dallas Business Journal. The prospect of “flying taxis” has even been discussed.
On a national scale, a report written by former government officials and aviation industry experts and released in late February said the United States air travel system is not ready for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, citing slow visa processing times and outdated security technology, among other reasons.
Among the recommendations to better prepare for the influx of international travelers was to create a task force to oversee preparations for larger scale events coming to the U.S. in the coming years, including the World Cup and Summer Olympics. President Trump did so a few weeks after the report was released.
The NCTCOG’s final transportation plan is set to be adopted in early 2026, once the competing teams and base camps are finalized.
Who’s in? Who’s out? FIFA World Cup field will take shape this year
Japan became the first non-host nation to qualify for the World Cup. Each of the six soccer confederations within FIFA has its own qualification process – which we won’t get into – and the field of teams competing will take shape throughout 2025 and be nearly complete by the end of the year.
By December 2025, 42 of the 48 teams will be known. The only teams left to solidify their spots will be UEFA’s final four spots and the two inter-confederation playoff spots. WFAA will keep track of all the teams who qualify here.
DFW’s marketing: How is the metroplex being projected to the world?
The “image” of DFW to the rest of the world will be through the city’s “Sonic ID” – the audio and visual representation of the region which was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Tre Nagella – and the FIFA Host City poster. Dallas’ FIFA song was released in March and the city poster is set to be unveiled later this month.
What else is coming in 2025?
Dallas will hold a “Road to the World Cup” launch event on June 11, officially one year out from the opening kick.
On Aug. 31, volunteer recruitment launch will take place. The sign-up form for volunteers was released online in February.