Dallas lands a heavyweight slate of World Cup matches, with AT&T Stadium hosting nine games as fans, businesses and regional leaders brace for an economic surge.
DALLAS, Texas — When the World Cup returns to DFW, it arrives in a country far more familiar with the sport than in 1994, when crowds packed the Cotton Bowl without always knowing the rules.
Barry Tate, who owns The Londoner, an English pub in Dallas, hopes the surge of visitors will bring both excitement and business from fans crowding around the matches.
“When the English score a goal, all the beers go up in the air,” he said. “And straight away, that’s another 100 pints I got to pour. They see it as a goal. I think of it as money.”
Regional leaders project a $2 billion economic impact for North Texas as fans arrive from around the world. England is among the heavyweight teams playing group-stage matches in Dallas, alongside the Netherlands, Croatia and Argentina.
“Messi is playing here. He’s playing two games here,” said Spencer Clift, a fan.
“At least, I know who that is!” said Kennedy Crowley.
FC Dallas president Dan Hunt said he’s never seen a market awarded five matches like this. He called the region’s haul of games “a bounty” that he never could have imagined.
“I’m so happy for everybody who has invested so much time and effort into this,” Hunt said.
AT&T Stadium, renaming itself Dallas Stadium for the international event, will host nine total matches, the most of any venue. With an expanded capacity of more than 90,000 fans, it will be the largest stadium in the entire tournament.
It’s nearly 50% larger than the Cotton Bowl was when Dallas last hosted World Cup matches.
Tate was there in ’94, a time when, as he put it, Americans were still getting their footing with the sport.
“It was packed,” Tate said. “But I think about 85 to 90% of them didn’t know what they were watching.”
This time, he believes U.S. fans have a deeper appreciation for the tournament.
“With soccer, when you win it, you are a world champion. That is the difference,” Tate said.
