Long Term Effects for World Cup Host Cities

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by dave8721

Every review I have seen of Boston's stadium situation I have seen from visitors has been overwhelmingly negative. They love the city, they hate that they have to travel out to the middle of nowhere to watch the game (and pay ridiculous gouged rates to do so).

I have not seen that, but I have seen it for MetLife Stadium. That seems to be outweighing tourists' impressions of New York City. Maybe they have been to New York City or know about it already, whereas places like Boston and Philadelphia are not really well-known around the world.

I have seen people say that Philadelphia got transport of fans correct, offering free SEPTA fares from City Hall down to the Sports Complex, closing the streets around all the stadiums on game day, and some other small things.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

On social media, the positive reviews for Boston, Philadelphia, and Houston and Texas in general seem to be through the roof. Those are the 3-4 places I have seen lauded more than any others so far.

I am skeptical of the whole social media push. People who travel internationally for sports or concerts or whatever are self-selecting. Nobody does that sort of trip who doesn't want to be at the event. But it seems like the algorithms are pushing positive news and that in turn motivates visitors to film themselves eating triple cheeseburgers.

Also, getting to a remote venue is a mini-adventure part of a trip. Making a wrong turn, improvised transportation, etc.

[ocman_]

Originally Posted by mhays

One outcome for a lot of cities must be a lot of first-time transit riders. Seattle has certainly blown the doors off normal ridership on game days and even adjacent days (peaking around 700,000 vs. 500,000), and it's not just visitors.

Once people ride once, they're probably fairly likely to ride again at some point. Whether you're LA, KC, or any other city that could be a big effect.

This is the first time an event actually had a significant boost of usage on LA's rail system. Everyone seemed to be using rail to get to watch parties and games. The internationality of the event (people from countries where public transit doesn't scare them) actually helped push them to discover an LA amenity that many actual Angelenos are slow to discover even living there. It's not going to boost LA tourism because everyone knows of LA, but it certainly boosted the reputation of LA transit, which was mostly a success for this event, and that might be even more important.

[LA21st]

The World Cup has been huge for Santa Monica/Venice. I think locals/tourists will go back on the weekends way more often after being somewhat hesistant after the covid years
Last weekend, I never saw the Pier so busy in my life.

The visitors in particiular love Venice Beach, its gotten tons of great videos/PR so I think it will help tourism in the coming years. There's also a big WC event in Venice next week that will be a big PR thing.

The Olympics of course too

From what I've read and seen in person, the WC has rebounded LA's image after the Palisades fire, Ice stuff last year etc.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

It's mostly turning into a bust for NYC. Tourism numbers were down YoY during the group matches. Apparently hotel bookings have picked up lately so there might be some recovery, but it's unlikely to get anywhere close to FIFA's projections per the NYC comptroller:



source: https://nypost.com/2026/06/25/real-estate/nyc-hotels-see-sudden-surge-in-bookings-for-world-cup/

I havent seen alot of NYC coverage but that could just be my algorithim.
Id say Seattle, Boston, SM/Venice have shown up the most for me. Maybe SF as 4.

I've seen Texas stuff, but mostly for food. Not the cities themselves.

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by dimondpark

I think it's been very minimal for SF, mainly because the stadium is like 50 miles south of the city, yes there are some large watch parties in the city and a lot of international visitors have come through but SF largely seems like business as usual. Otherwise we went to the USA-Bosnia-Herzegovina game and it was an amazing experience, 10/10.

You wouldn't know in SF that The Bay was a World Cup host but I think it is a different story for SJ. I did see a person complaining on social media about the lack luster watch parties in SF as far as attendance, but it is late June and July here and that means cool/cold weather and these were outside events.

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by LA21st

The World Cup has been huge for Santa Monica/Venice. I think locals/tourists will go back on the weekends way more often after being somewhat hesistant after the covid years
Last weekend, I never saw the Pier so busy in my life.

The visitors in particiular love Venice Beach, its gotten tons of great videos/PR so I think it will help tourism in the coming years. There's also a big WC event in Venice next week that will be a big PR thing.

The Olympics of course too

From what I've read and seen in person, the WC has rebounded LA's image after the Palisades fire, Ice stuff last year etc.

I think Venice Beach has been a bright spot and a natural for WC fans and tourism. It really embraced the right kind of energy and worldly atmosphere that is probably unmatched to some other host cities.

[sopas ej]

There was a local TV news story that came out a few days ago about Inglewood, CA businesses enjoying a boost in business during the World Cup:
• Video Link

But I don't doubt some people around SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles Stadium during the World Cup hehe) were ready for the World Cup to end.

Here's an Inglewood neighborhood full of Bosnian fans when Bosnia and Herzegovina played against Switzerland at SoFi:
• Video Link

• Video Link

Can you imagine if you had to leave your driveway?

[mhays]

If you have to leave your driveway, why not just walk with the crowd?

I'm kidding...sort of.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by dktshb

I think Venice Beach has been a bright spot and a natural for WC fans and tourism. It really embraced the right kind of energy and worldly atmosphere that is probably unmatched to some other host cities.

Yea, not every Angeleno is a fan of VB, and some want it to be more corporate looking. But then it would look like everywhere else on the water in the world. Lets face, there isnt much uniquness to American cities.

The funkiness is what makes people like it. Not everyone, some people just want some cold, boring sterile place. Long Beach has apartment towers on the water and it's...fine.
Its not a destination, althought the midrise parts of downtown LB are more interesting to walk around.

[IcedCowboyCoffee]

I had the privilege of going to the JPN v SWE game and got to talk with a lot of international Swedish and Japanese visitors on the train ride from Dallas to Arlington before the game. The global fascination with the west and cowboy culture is alive and well, and these folks apparently got their fix of it in the fort worth stockyards. Everyone was effusive about it.

I've gotten the sense that the confluence of this tourney happening while Taylor Sheridan is at the seeming peak of his showrunning power is doing a lot for Fort Worth's broader awareness. He and the city have invested a lot into turning the Fort Worth Stockyards into the stereotypical "capital-T Texas" tourist spot over the past couple decades and it's paying off. It's been fun seeing the videos of international visitors experiencing billy bob's and the cattle drive and rodeo. This probably would have been unthinkable during the 1994 games, whose Dallas games were in Dallas proper anyways.

I'm a Dallasite but I've always recommended visitors to make the hop over to Fort Worth because people have a preconceived idea of what a trip to Texas should be like, and, while that idea is a caricature, it's always a fun time over there in cowtown.

The long term effect for most cities is always going to be the broader effect of building up soccer culture among young people. The attendance for the Fan Fests have been bonkers and that's a free event. Kids who attend that will remember it the rest of their lives (positively). Kids whose eBay reseller parents forced them to wait in line for those bracelets will also remember that for the rest of their lives (negatively).

[sopas ej]

Well, LA's last World Cup match was Friday. From what I've been seeing on the news, many in Los Angeles, and especially in Inglewood, are sad that the WC has left; many wanted it to keep going. Plenty of Inglewood residents enjoyed the many international crowds and the energy and enthusiasm they had, and of course the businesses that benefited from all those visitors were enjoying themselves too.

This is a Los Angeles Times business story from a few days ago:

World Cup fans flock to In-N-Out, Erewhon and Trader Joe’s for a taste of California

According to the article, Erewhon visits quadrupled what they were the week before June 12th, the day of the U.S. national soccer team’s opening match at SoFi.

There were also surges of visitors to El Pollo Loco and Trader Joe's, some even complaining that international visitors were buying up all the mini canvas tote bags at TJ's.

And of course there were the visits to In-N-Out:

Soon after the Belgium vs. Spain quarterfinal ended Friday, the In-N-Out near SoFi had a long line of soccer fans stretching out the door in bright red and yellow and black jerseys and matching striped hats and scarves.

One of the workers said he had to explain “spread” and “animal style” to foreign football fans.

That bolded part made me laugh.

As one Belgium-Spain matchgoer from the Netherlands stood taking a picture of the In-N-Out sign after the game, he said he’d never had a burger like the one he’d just tried.

“We only have McDonald’s and Burger King,” he said. “It’s way better.”

Me, I was actually starting to get burned out on the World Cup, even before the US were knocked out. I'm definitely going to watch the final match on TV, though.

[pj3000]

Biggest disappointment of the 2026 World Cup...

The semifinal games being played indoors... in Dallas and Atlanta, of all places... at 3:00 PM EST, of all times.

WTF?

[38 Geary]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

This is a Los Angeles Times business story from a few days ago:

World Cup fans flock to In-N-Out, Erewhon and Trader Joe’s for a taste of California

According to the article, Erewhon visits quadrupled what they were the week before June 12th, the day of the U.S. national soccer team’s opening match at SoFi.

There were also surges of visitors to El Pollo Loco and Trader Joe's, some even complaining that international visitors were buying up all the mini canvas tote bags at TJ's.

And of course there were the visits to In-N-Out:

One of my relatives who lived here briefly for uni and has since moved back said that the two places he misses the most are In-N-Out and Wingstop.

And also related, one of my relatives in the UK asked for us to bring TJ totes as gifts on a recent visit.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by 38 Geary

One of my relatives who lived here briefly for uni and has since moved back said that the two places he misses the most are In-N-Out and Wingstop.

And also related, one of my relatives in the UK asked for us to bring TJ totes as gifts on a recent visit.

Wingstop? They can't be that hard up for edible food in the UK.

[38 Geary]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Wingstop? They can't be that hard up for edible food in the UK.

The one that craves In-N-Out and Wingstop lives in HK currently.

They do have Wingstop in the UK, and he actually joined us on the trip and ate there a couple times since he missed it so much.

[mhays]

The TV impact might be less than I thought. The total global audience figures (I assume through the Round of 16) have topped out at 44.8 million (Mexico vs. England) and 33.0 (US vs. Belgium). The final is expected to reach the 500 million range.

That's not terrible, particularly in the countries playing in each game, but it won't necessarily move the needle that much from a city brand/PR perspective. On the plus side the US has shown that we can fill stadiums. Also we've gotten back a little of the "we're in this world together" feeling that's been lost lately. Some of us have nice aerials. I don't believe Youtube's hype that visitors are hyperventilating over our food and pick-up trucks, but some mildly-consequential numbers of people have visited each city that never had before, and many will leave with positive impressions, particularly those who were both fun and convenient.

[jd3189]

During the time Mexico was still in the Cup, I would see folks with the jerseys all over the city and metro. There were even one instant block party when they won against Ecuador.

[IcedCowboyCoffee]

Originally Posted by mhays

On the plus side the US has shown that we can fill stadiums. Also we've gotten back a little of the "we're in this world together" feeling that's been lost lately. Some of us have nice aerials. I don't believe Youtube's hype that visitors are hyperventilating over our food and pick-up trucks, but some mildly-consequential numbers of people have visited each city that never had before, and many will leave with positive impressions, particularly those who were both fun and convenient.

There was definitely a LOT of influencer over-reaction clickbait videos; those felt pretty easy to spot at least.
The fun stuff came from local news channels interviewing people before and after matches or from people just posting about their time on vacation. Which is what this was for international visitors, and everyone has fun on vacation! This gave them a good excuse to experience cities other than LA and NYC which was nice to see, and every city gave a good impression.

It also seemed like somewhat of a wake up call for some folks who allowed too much news media to distort their perceptions of what life is like here. Like that poor chap who iirc was visiting Boston and was so fully expecting to find a hostile and suspicious U.S. because of all the shootings he hears about that he got emotionally overwhelmed on air during a local news interview expressing what a relief it was that everyone was so kind and welcoming.
The reality is southern hospitality isn't just in the south; I think we all love visitors. We want people who come over to leave thinking 'wow, so-and-so throws such fun parties and their home is so lovely and their furniture is really nice, the food they served was so delicious and they're such mindful hosts. I hope we get invited back soon."
For WC host cities I would say mission accomplished.

[Gresto]

Originally Posted by pj3000

Biggest disappointment of the 2026 World Cup...

The semifinal games being played indoors... in Dallas and Atlanta, of all places... at 3:00 PM EST, of all times.

WTF?

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I'm all for soccer being played indoors if it spares players unfavourable conditions like torrential rain, sweltering heat, gale-force winds, or some other natural phenomenon. It's already one of the most physically demanding sports without factoring in the caprices of Mother Nature. Trying to play soccer in a heavy downpour on a muddy field or in high winds is a fool's errand. And playing in the heat can lead to cardiac arrest.