Arlington sees huge economic impact from World Cup
Officials from Arlington say the economic impact from this year’s FIFA World Cup are even higher than they anticipated, and that’s with one more game left to go in North Texas. FOX 4’s Casey Stegall has more
ARLINGTON, Texas -The city of Arlington is celebrating a major success because of the World Cup. And there’s one semi-final match remaining.Â
World Cup Economic Impact
Crowds have packed hotels, restaurants, and businesses across the city this summer
While the final economic impact won’t be released for several more weeks, officials said they anticipate the numbers to be higher than expected
By the numbers:
The city believes the first eight matches have already generated $18 to $24 million for the local economy. That’s before accounting for spending at restaurants, bars, and retailers
Hotel and short-term rental revenue also reached a record $31 million in June, shattering the city’s previous monthly record of $23.6 million set in late 2024
The occupancy rates were slightly lower than expected, but visitors paid way more for rooms, with average nightly rates climbing nearly 47%
What they’re saying:
The owner of the Grease Monkey Burger Shop said his customer traffic increased roughly 25% to 30% throughout the tournament
“We’ve seen an overall increase throughout the whole period. It’s been more of an ongoing type thing than all at once,” Paul Checkeye said. “We were thinking we were going to get overrun more during the games and before the game than what we actually saw. But overall, it’s been solid.”
What we don’t know:
Officials said it will take another four to six weeks following Tuesday’s semi-final match to calculate the full economic impact of Dallas Stadium’s nine matches
Once all the numbers are in, they believe they will show a big win for Arlington and all of North Texas
The talking to Arlington officials
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