Soccer attracts new attention at all levels

By Chip Mahaney

This week marks one hundred days, and those days are counting down fast.

June 14 is the night FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off here in North Texas, with the first of nine matches scheduled for the temporarily and oddly named “Dallas Stadium,” in Arlington, of course. That night, more than 90,000 fans will crowd into the local sports palace for an opening-round match between the Netherlands and Japan. Thousands of others — athletes, team officials, foreign dignitaries, stadium staff and volunteers — will join them under the same roof.

All told, North Texas will draw five group-stage (opening round) matches, featuring the opening night teams, plus England, Croatia, Argentina, Austria, Jordan and another European national team to be named soon. Once group play eliminates a third of the 48 qualifiers, five rounds of knockout matches will determine the ultimate winner. Dallas Stadium will host four knockout matches, including two in the Round of 32, one in the Round of 16, and one of the two semifinals.

North Texas will host more World Cup matches than any other host site. The economic impact here will be enormous, affecting hotels and housing, transportation and traffic, restaurants and retail and, well, everything. The Dallas Sports Commission estimates an economic impact of up to $2.1 billion for the region. This month, more than 6,000 local people are being hired to fill volunteer roles, supporting every venue and location where team, and travelers may find themselves. 

Even enterprising local homeowners can now cash in. Airbnb recently announced a $750 sign-on bonus to new qualified hosts who are willing to turn over their entire home to World Cup visitors this summer. That bonus is on top of the rent. Check local regulations before signing up!

An accompanying international Fan Fest at Fair Park will run 34 days, local organizers say, drawing perhaps 100,000 people on some of those days. 

The World Cup’s International Broadcast Center will be housed at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, with thousands of foreign journalists and technical crew members bringing sights and sounds of the matches and the pageantry to audiences all around the world.

In short, this summer is going to be huge. FIFA World Cup is the world’s largest single-sport event, and Dallas will be a hub for much of it. Get ready.

But what will the World Cup leave behind for us? And will the boon of the world’s best soccer, played here in our midst, translate to a renewed interest in soccer here in North Texas?

The 1994 World Cup, in which Dallas also played a big role, generated a new wave of fan interest then, and it helped a new domestic pro soccer league, Major League Soccer, launch in 1996. FCDallas is an original MLS franchise, birthed by the late and great Dallas sports visionary, Lamar Hunt. His sons, Clark and Dan, run the team now.

For two decades, FCDallas has played home matches at Toyota Stadium in Frisco. It’s a long haul for those living in the Dallas White Rock Lake area who want to attend games, but many diehards and casual fans do. 

Toyota Stadium is now in the middle of a three-year construction project, with facilities on the east and west sides getting a full rebuild. A new roof will also be installed, shielding fans from the hot Texas summer sun. But during construction, capacity is cut to about 11,000 seats, an unfortunate short-term occurrence if local demand for FCDallas tickets spikes post-World Cup.

Meanwhile, two other professional soccer clubs are trying to lure fans to the stalwart Cotton Bowl. 

Dallas Trinity, playing in the Gainbridge USL Super League, is now in its third season of professional women’s soccer. The league has nine teams and is vying for attention and dollars against the more established National Women’s Soccer League, whose nearest franchise is in Houston. 

And soon will come Atlético Dallas, a new men’s pro soccer club that will compete in the USL Championship, a league of large and midsize cities, featuring 24 teams this season. This new club starts play next year. Season ticket deposits are available now. 

Beyond the pros, soccer is strong at the college level. SMU’s men’s soccer team is consistently a Top 10 side. And the impact of youth soccer in the region cannot be understated, with an estimated 200,000 players in grades K-12, the second most of any region in the country.

There’s no doubt, soccer at all levels in our region will attract new attention and new dollars to the sport in the wake of FIFA World Cup 2026. The question is, can it change the trajectory of the local leagues, clubs and businesses that operate here and, if so, by how much?  

Even if soccer here is unlikely to reach the popularity of football, many hope the sport will cash in, invest and grow to greater heights.