Houston is all set to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup with infrastructure upgrades and security plans in progress.
HOUSTON — Start the countdown, Houston! We are officially one year away from being in the center of a worldwide spotlight for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Space City was officially named one of the 16 North American host cities in 2022.
Since that time, we’ve seen official posters and a revival of the “Art of Soccer” program. Crews have hit the ground running to ensure everything from stadium upgrades to security has been addressed.
NRG Stadium is the location where the seven games will be hosted. FIFA requires stadiums to have a capacity of at least 40,000 seats. If a location, such as NRG Stadium, is set to host quarter-final or semi-final games, it must have at least 60,000 seats. Whomever is hosting either the opening ceremony or the final game must have at least 80,000 seats.
KHOU 11 News has been told NRG Stadium is set to get new chillers, LED lights, upgrades to parking lots and adding in a grass field, which is expected to be installed after the 2026 Rodeo season.
Renderings of the upcoming nearly 40-day Fan Fest in East Downtown have already been released. There have also been hand-painted soccer balls being placed in Houston airports to celebrate the upcoming tournament.
Amid all the excitement, we also wanted to answer questions our viewers have had as we get closer to the first whistle.
Our crew sat down with two of the central figures in the planning process for hosting the 2026 World Cup in Houston. We discussed everything from transportation to security to the financial impact for the city as well as local businesses.
Lester Gretsch with METRO sat down with KHOU 11 News to discuss what locals and visitors can expect from the city’s public transportation.
Gretsch said the wheels are rolling as Houston is on track for the journey to June 2026.
“Let’s just be excited for a second. The World Cup is coming to Houston,” KHOU 11 Reporter Amanda Henderson said.
“It is coming to Houston and it is a dream come true,” Gretsch said.
An estimated 500,000 people are expected to make their way to Houston to watch the games.
“We look at. Uh, the Super Bowl. This is going to be like having seven Super Bowls in the span of a month,” Gretsch said.
Gretsch said they expect a majority of World Cup visitors to use the city’s public transit system.
“[Planning for the World Cup] is the beast against which all other beasts are measured,” Gretsch said.
Gretsch said preparing for the World Cup has already been a years-long process. You can expect to see extended hours and trains appearing at stations more frequently, especially on game day. Once METRO knows which teams will be coming to Houston for the group stage, they will update their app to include information interpretation in their respective languages.
“Time is everything in this instance,” Henderson said.
“We control what we can control. We anticipate what we can anticipate and we adjust to those needs,” Gretsch said.
In April 2025, METRO recorded more than 6,000,000 rides between the light rail and bus.
The public transportation agency has also added Microtransit vehicles and a round-trip bus route from Bush International Airport to downtown Houston. The downtown location will give people the chance to walk to the purple, green and red light rail.
“Right now, there’s not a [bus] line to Hobby. Could that be something we see in the future?” Henderson asked.
“More on that as it develops,” Gretsch said.
METRO is one of several organizations working with the Houston 2026 World Cup Host Committee to address safety.
Committee President Chris Canetti sat down with us to explain how past events have paved the way.
“Houston’s hosted more major sporting events than any other city in North America since 2004. So, we’ve been there, we’ve done that, we’ve got great experience,” Canetti said.
In METRO’s case, the experience is helping them to know how to hire more officers while ensuring there’s a constant presence.
“We wanna make sure that we have enough police presence not only in the train stations but also throughout the system,” Gretsch said.
METRO’s Police Chief Ban Tien has previously spoken about addressing safety on the system by collaborating with several agencies to help give unhoused people what they need.
“Not just collaborate with law enforcement agencies, social service, and to a large degree, those nonprofit and church group,” Tien said.
So, don’t lose track of time because before you know it, Houston will be stationed at the platform of a worldwide event.
Ready to serve Houstonians and visitors alike.
“This is the biggest sporting event in the history of mankind, and we are just absolutely fortunate to be a part of it,” Gretsch said.
Security will be a unified operation between FIFA as well as local, state and federal partners.
Hotels for the incoming teams have already been contracted. To keep them safe, numerous groups are working together to ensure everyone is protected from the time they arrive to the time they leave.
Canetti said their security plan extends to every aspect of planning for the World Cup. The host committee put together a report on how they will focus on protecting human rights by meeting with several local stakeholders and discussing necessary protections.
“There’s lots of things that we need to protect, uh, from stadiums to fan festival sites to airports, to the transportation systems, hotels, you name it. So, we’ve got people involved at numerous levels across the board. They’ve been engaged in this since June of 2022, when we were awarded the event,” Canetti said.
The host committee is responsible for paying for the safety and security features put in place for the World Cup.
On a state level, Texas has a Major Events Reimbursement Program to help cover some of the costs incurred. The program looks to support events to have a positive economic impact and bring in additional tax dollars. To receive money from MERP, the county where the event will be held must apply with an economic impact study to demonstrate how many people are expected and how much tax revenue is estimated.
On a federal level, there is a request for support on safety and security costs as well. There is a bipartisan task force to help enhance national security not only for the World Cup but also for the 2028 Olympics and the United States’ 250th anniversary.
From 2019-2022, hospitality rights and ticket sales hit $949,000,000. Out of that total $929,000,000 came from the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Specifically, $686,000,000 came from ticket sales and $243,000,000 came from hospitality rights.
We’ve heard from officials about Houston potentially getting a $1,000,000 economic boost. Should the city’s host committee see any surplus, the money will go in full to legacy programs, which look to help the community and city grow. Houston’s three main pillars are education, housing and growing the game of soccer.
The economic boost we will see in Houston will largely come from the spending and investment taking place before, during and after the World Cup.
“The Super Bowl was here in 2017, there was a report done post Super Bowl, so actual numbers that showed a $347 million economic impact to the region. From one game with about 1 week’s worth of events. We’re going to have seven matches over the course of [the entire tournament]. So it’s very easy to see, when you put it that way, how the economic impact could be in the $1.5 billion dollar range,” Canetti said.
Canetti said this is a process that has had the support of numerous organizations across Houston, including City and County leaders, METRO, Hobby and Bush International Airport officials, Houston First and NRG Stadium, among others.
“What does it mean to see all of that work lead up to this moment?” Henderson asked.
“I think this is going to be a defining moment for really helping to grow the game here in Houston and in the United States,” Canetti said.
Growing the game has been a constant goal since the last time the United States was a World Cup host country, in 1994.
Reminders of the upcoming World Cup have been placed throughout Houston, such as the Art of Houston’s ceramic soccer balls and decorations at local businesses.
Some businesses, such as Pitch 25, are specifically aimed at hosting watch parties for soccer tournaments. The bar and grill is owned by Brian Ching, a former USMNT and Houston Dynamo player who is also the team’s all-time leading scorer.
KHOU 11 News sat down with Pitch 25’s Director of Operations, Timothy Contreras, to talk about how they are preparing for the upcoming tournament.
“Do you have a favorite player that you’re hoping will come to Houston or a team,” Henderson asked.
“I do,” Contreras said.
“You don’t want to jinx it,” Henderson said.
“I don’t want to jinx anything,” Contreras said.
One thing Contreras won’t jinx is the arrival of fans and their money.
In a study done by FIFA, the United States is on track to receive $6,400,000,000 from tourists.
“Financially, this is a big deal for businesses,” Henderson said.
“Yes, for small business owners this gives us an opportunity to, you know, become a part of something great and bigger,” Contreras said.
Being just two blocks away from where the city’s Fan Fest will be located, hopes are high for those traveling to Space City to make their way to local businesses.
In the past, watch parties for other tournaments have drawn massive crowds. Fans are telling us how much having the tournament here means to them.
“It just makes sense to have such an inclusive sport come to one of the biggest cities,” Luis said.
“You have a whole bunch of fans. They’re dressed, they’re repped. They’re coming to have a great time,” Selena said.
This great time has long been a dream for Canetti.
“Have you been able to take a step back at all and say ‘This is really cool,’” Henderson asked.
“It’s a monumental moment in time for our city. It’s something that I’m really excited and proud to be a part of,” Canetti said. “We just want this to be uh a really great event for our city that has long-lasting positive impacts.”
At least 500,000 visitors are expected to travel to Houston, which is nearly five times what we saw in 2017 during the Super Bowl.
But ahead of the game, the money needs to be spent to get ready at places like NRG Stadium, where games will be hosted.
The good news is you will not pay additional taxes for FIFA-related changes.
Canetti said, in addition to their FIFA contract, they’re expecting to be reimbursed through a state program and possibly federally as well.
“We hold the contract with FIFA. It is our job and responsibility to deliver that contract. We take on all the expenses, and it’s our job to make sure that those expenses are covered,” Canetti said.
There is hope that the money spent now will bring businesses what they are hoping for.
“We’re a year out, but still a year is just right around the corner,” Contreras said.
We reached out to the City of Houston to see what projects they might be working on regarding the World Cup.
A city spokesperson, who spoke with the director of Houston Public Works, sent us the following statement:
“No projects that are currently scoped that are being made for the World Cup, but there are some that have their timelines influenced by it. We’ve got significant roadway rehabilitation and paving projects all throughout [East Downtown] and the Downtown corridors that are all projects that are needed for daily quality of life, but we’re endeavoring to have completed prior to the [World Cup] to minimize disruptions. The WC has an impact on timelines to avoid disruption to visitors, fans, and everyone else interacting in those areas, but we’re not undertaking projects just because the WC is coming.”