DALLAS — Millions of fans and hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to descend on the DFW metroplex in 2026 when FIFA brings the World Cup that summer, according to projections shared by city leaders on Tuesday.
In a specially-called meeting Tuesday afternoon, Dallas City Council was briefed on what to expect when the world's largest sporting event comes to North Texas, including economic impact estimates, fan attendance projections, what venues will be served throughout DFW and more.
AT&T Stadium will serve as the official FIFA match venue, and will host nine World Cup matches, more than any other venue in the tournament. It will host a semi-final match, a round of 16 matches, two round of 32 matches, and five group stage matches. Click here for a list of those dates.
Here is a full breakdown of all 104 games in the 2026 FIFA World Cup:
According to the update from city leaders Tuesday, it is estimated that four matches will bring in approximately $415 million to the area. Economic projections for nine matches is still to be determined. Those will be announced at a later date by the Dallas Sports Commission. Part of those later economic projections will also include ancillary events (fan fest), base camps, training venues, agencies, vendors, commercial affiliates, increased teams, and broadcasters (International Broadcast Center).
The IBC hosts 10,000-plus. broadcast media representatives for six months. In 2022, the International Broadcast Center brought Qatar an estimated $65 million. Dallas is still pitching to FIFA to host the IBC, as it did in the 1994 World Cup. Back then, the IBC was held at Fair Park. According to the city meeting, the proposed venue Dallas would use is the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas in downtown, if selected by FIFA.
City leaders also laid out the key venues across the metroplex that would play an integral role in hosting the tournament for 34 days:
- Match venue: AT&T Stadium
- Base camps: Dallas Baptist University, Toyota Stadium, University of Dallas, TCU
- Training venues: Cotton Bowl Stadium, SMU
- Fan Festival: Fair Park
- *Fan activations: Dallas Arlington, Fort Worth, Frisco
- *International Broadcast Center: Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas
* = Pending Contract Negotiations
Here is a look at the venues on a map:
FIFA World Cup Fan Festival: By the numbers
FIFA Fan Fest will be held in every host city. City leaders estimate that 34 days in Dallas will attract millions of fans, a similar drawing 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 2.3 million people to DFW over the course of those 34 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, 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?
In 2024, Dallas city leaders will work on committee work, including:
- Safety & Security
- Fan Festival & Ancillary Events
- Transportation
- Airports
- Sustainability
- Human Rights
- Workforce/Volunteers
- Hospitality/ Ambassadors
- Marketing & Communications
- Dressing & Signage
- Legacy Programs
- Host City Supporters & Donors
Volunteer recruitment has begun, with the sign-up form being released last month.
In 2025, Dallas city leaders expect to begin doing test events. By December of 2025, the participating teams and match-ups will be determined after FIFA World Cup qualifying concludes, and the ancillary event schedule will be determined.
And finally, by April of 2026, teams will finalize their base camp selections.
More FIFA World Cup coverage: