Fort Worth expects World Cup visitors seeking ‘authentic Texas experience’
Soccer fans turned out Friday morning, to the tune of roughly 1,500 people, to watch the World Cup draw at Billy Bob’s in the Fort Worth Stockyards. And while we don’t yet know which teams will play in Arlington this summer (that will be announced Saturday), new Fort Worth Sports Commissioner Drew Hays was on hand watching the proceedings with anticipation.
In his role with the Fort Worth Sports Commission, which is part of Visit Fort Worth, the city’s tourism arm, Hays’ job is to market Fort Worth as a premier destination for athletic competitions and sports fans.
With nine matches taking place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington (which will temporarily be renamed Dallas Stadium during the World Cup), Hays believes Fort Worth is well positioned to attract a fair number of the hundreds of thousands of people who are expected to descend upon North Texas once the tournament kicks off in June.
“We feel like visitors will have a great interest in our city based on it being the Texas you want, when you think about that true, authentic Texas experience,” said Hays.
Mayor Mattie Parker echoed that, saying Fort Worth has “an authentic brand” that will surely draw visitors looking to experience that idealized vision of Texas. That brand is seen in the city’s World Cup logo that Parker unveiled at Billy Bob’s on Friday morning, which incorporates a cowboy hat atop a soccer ball.
And while Dallas is getting most of the spotlight as a World Cup host city, the Cowtown aesthetic is also evident in Fort Worth artist Matt Cliff’s official regional poster design.
Branding aside, both Hays and Parker said Fort Worth leaders have spent years planning for the World Cup and coming up with a strategy for maximizing the tournament’s economic impact. As such, Parker said the city is more than ready for what’s coming.
For example, Trinity Metro, which oversees Fort Worth’s public transportation, already has a robust plan to move soccer fans around Fort Worth and to the games in Arlington.
Anette Landeros, the chief strategy officer for Trinity Metro, previously told the Star-Telegram they will be able to transport close to 6,000 people to Arlington on game days via the Trinity Railway Express.
Trinity Metro acquired additional train cars and locomotives, Landeros said, and they’re going to add supplemental buses to accommodate overflow passengers.
Parker said first responders are ready to maintain safety and security during World Cup events, adding that they’ve used other large-scale events, like the Texas Rangers World Series parade in 2023, to prepare.
When asked about the potential economic impact on Fort Worth, Hays said it would depend in part on which teams play in Arlington. The bigger the teams, the bigger the following, of course, which will dictate how much people spend.
But even without factoring in the World Cup, Hays said, sporting events already bring roughly $88 million to the city.
Parker expects spending during the World Cup to be about four times what it was in 2011 when Arlington hosted the Super Bowl, regardless of which teams are here.
Over the course of the tournament, Parker said, there will be official FIFA watch parties in the area. She added she anticipates some unofficial, pop-up events as well, which could draw visitors and increase spending in Fort Worth.
Finally, Parker said she wants Fort Worth to be a welcoming place this summer. This week, Andrew Giuliani, who heads the Trump administration’s World Cup task force, told The Times in England it’s possible that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents could be patrolling World Cup events.
When asked if ICE would have a presence in Fort Worth during the tournament, Parker said she didn’t know of any specific plans. But she made it clear the goal during the World Cup was for people to come to Fort Worth and enjoy themselves.
“We don’t want anything to detract from that,” Parker said.