Representatives from FIFA and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football will make site visits in North Texas this weekend as part of the area's bid to host matches during soccer's 2026 World Cup. The organizations are visiting a total of eight cities through the beginning of November.
"This is the moment for our bid committee to show Dallas' best and, hopefully, they can walk away with a positive feeling for the city and our different venues," says FC Dallas President Dan Hunt. "This is such an amazing community."
Hunt also serves as chairman of the Dallas 2026 Committee. He says FIFA has already selected three sites in both Canada and Mexico.
Hunt says North Texas would be a strong market in the United States because the area already has established venues, including FC Dallas' home at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, the Cotton Bowl and AT&T Stadium.
"Hopefully, they can walk away with a positive feeling for the city and for our different venues," he says. "This is such an amazing community."
Hunt says Dallas 2026 hopes to host elimination games or even the final, saying AT&T Stadium is able to host an event that big.
"AT&T Stadium is one of the great stadiums in sports. The revenue that can be driven off that venue plus the experience you can have there is a really special thing," he says. "It's very much a differentiator from other markets, too."
In addition to completed stadiums, Hunt says DFW can offer more transportation options with two airports receiving commercial flights and several private airports.
Hunt also says North Texas has other attractions to successfully host large events, including ample hotel space and locations that can host parties, receptions and concerts.
"Something that's so special about this bid is Dallas and Fort Worth are so unique and distinct from each other. What a great cultural experience that is," Hunt says. "Dallas is incredibly dynamic with its business community. Fort Worth is, too, but it also has that 'Cowtown' feel to it. That'll be great to be able to share that with visiting guests, and also the museums. Fort Worth has the Kimbell and the Modern. Both are great museums. In Dallas, we have the [Dallas Museum of Art], the Nasher Sculpture Garden, the Perot Museum. Culturally, there's a lot of different things we can offer in this community."
Hunt says North Texas can provide fans from other parts of the world with cheaper options than cities like Los Angeles and New York.
"Compared to a lot of the other major markets, this is the most affordable," he says. "We were doing a study on the hotels. We have incredibly nice hotels throughout the Metroplex, and the pricing on them is very competitive, which is exciting."
According to the Dallas Sports Commission, each match could result in a $400 million economic impact.
Of 80 World Cup matches in 2026, 60 will take place in the United States. Ten will be in Canada; ten will be in Mexico.
CONCACAF and FIFA say a decision on sites for the 2026 World Cup will come in the first half of 2022.
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