‘We had an amazing bid’

By David Mullen

Dallas received a huge economic and promotional kick on June 16 when the area was selected as a host city for the FIFA 2026 World Cup to be held in North America. Canada, Mexico and the U.S. joined forces and made a continental pitch for the world’s largest sporting event. The 2026 World Cup matches will be the first held across three different countries.

The selection of the Dallas area was not surprising. The area is home to a major international airport (DFW International), a bustling domestic airport (Love Field), thousands of area hotels and restaurants, popular attractions outside of soccer, plenty of practice facilities in Dallas and Frisco and a primary, climate-controlled stadium that can accommodate more than 90,000 fans in AT&T stadium in Arlington. All are FIFA hot buttons. 

“This is a great city and obviously the hotels are incredibly affordable here for a major market,” FC Dallas President and Dallas 2026 Bid Committee Chairman Dan Hunt told Mull it Over. “There’s great infrastructure throughout the whole community.”

Dallas’ host city bid began more than five years ago and was a collaboration between the Dallas Sports Commission, FC Dallas and the Dallas Cowboys. “We had an amazing bid for the FIFA World Cup 2026 here in Dallas,” Hunt said. “AT&T Stadium is probably the jewel of all of that. It is one of the greatest economic drivers in all of professional sports: 380 suites, which our next closest competitor in the bid process looks to have about 260 suites. Also, having 15,000 club seats and being able to seat 92 or 93,000 guests at the stadium is a huge win.”

Built in 2009, AT&T Stadium has a retractable roof to combat the summer heat in Texas. The field surface, currently a Hellas Matrix artificial turf, will have to be raised 15 feet and almost certainly converted to grass to accommodate FIFA standards. No World Cup match has ever been played on artificial turf. A total of 80 matches will be played across North America from Monday, June 8, 2026, to Friday, July 3, 2026. 

“Dallas is centrally located with two fantastic airports and a number of great private air facilities,” Hunt said. “We have great venues like Toyota Stadium and Soccer Center that could be home training centers to visiting national teams. We’re chasing the International Broadcast Center to return to Fair Park like it was there in 1994 for the World Cup. We also want to host the referee headquarters here, which we’ve done for other tournaments.”

When the 15th FIFA World Cup last came to the U.S. in 1994, the field was 32 teams. Dallas held six matches — including a quarter-final match — at the 64,000-seat Cotton Bowl in Fair Park. In 2026, the field of teams will be expanded to 48 for the first time. Securing the 2026 International Broadcast Center is the next goal.

“No decision [has been] made on the International Broadcast Center yet,” Hunt said. “We hope it’s going to be at Fair Park, like it was in 1994. Obviously, there’s going to be need for some renovations and facility improvements for that to actually come to fruition.”

After culling down the number of World Cup sites, Dallas joined the final list of U.S. World Cup cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle. Cities in Mexico selected were Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey. Toronto and Vancouver will represent Canada. 

Areas that did not make the final cut were Cincinnati, Denver, Edmonton, Orlando and Washington D.C./Baltimore, meaning no World Cup games in the Nation’s Capital.

“I was a little bit surprised about the D.C./Baltimore bid,” Hunt said. “I think it’s a great community. Nashville is probably the other one that really surprised me. I’m disappointed for the cities that didn’t get the bid because, in the end, my family’s vision is to grow soccer in this entire country, and markets that have appetite for the game that are left out is always hard.” In addition to owning FC Dallas of the MLS, the Hunt family sports holdings include the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and part ownership of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls.

The number of matches Dallas hosts and the decision for the locations of the semifinal and final matches will be decided likely in early 2023. The opportunity to host a semifinal or final match would cement Dallas as a world soccer center.

“I think we have a realistic chance to host the finals here,” Hunt said. “Along those lines, having a semifinal would be a huge honor, or having the opening match of the World Cup would be a huge honor. We’re competing to win this, though, and the World Cup final is a big prize. We have first class facilities all over the Metroplex and an excellent chance to host meaningful matches. There’s really no situation anywhere in the entire world that has three major stadiums right next to each other. We could do something that is so incredibly creative.” 

Because of their size and prestige, New York/New Jersey, Los Angeles and Mexico City are the prohibitive favorites to host the final three matches. 

The Dallas area must convince FIFA that the area is worthy of a game the entire world will be watching.  

“We also have multiple other professional stadiums around AT&T Stadium with Globe Life Field and Choctaw Stadium plus Texas Live, and even Six Flags is in proximity, so you can really create a unique entertainment district that nobody else has ever been able to do around World Cup matches,” Hunt concluded. “Part of our pitch to FIFA is we literally can throw the biggest party in the world for the World Cup,”  

With the Dallas area selected as a host location for the 2026 FIFA World Cup secure, the party planning can now begin. World Cup fans love a party.