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The United States, Canada and Mexico are playing host to the soccer world this month as the FIFA World Cup brings the top 48 teams in the world to North America. So how much of an economic windfall will actually materialize in the 11 host cities across the U.S.? Dylan Duke with number station KERA in Dallas looked into it.
UNIDENTIFIED SPORTS ANNOUNCER: (Inaudible).
DYLAN DUKE, BYLINE: Over the course of the World Cup, thousands of fans will flow through the gates here at the FIFA Fan Fest in Dallas. While the event is free, it's actually at the center of a major economic machine. Money is being spent everywhere, starting with insanely expensive tickets.
ANDREW MORRIS: Unfortunately, we paid a very hefty price for the...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yeah.
MORRIS: ...England against Croatia.
DUKE: Andrew Morris flew from Australia to attend three games at the Dallas Stadium. He said, at the end of the day, the flights weren't the most expensive part of his trip.
MORRIS: It's just expenses on top of the flights what's gone really high, which is Airbnb and the tickets for the games and stuff like that.
DUKE: So who stands to benefit from all this spending? FIFA projects the U.S. economy will be among the winners - a $17 billion boost in U.S. GDP and 185,000 jobs. The city of Dallas projects a 1.5 to $2 billion economic boost or about $3.5 million in sales tax revenue. But economists are skeptical the projections will amount to much in the long term.
CULLUM CLARK: Yeah, I guess they'd have something of a little boom in sales tax revenue to last for a few weeks, and then it just goes back to where it was before. So in the grand scheme, it doesn't really matter that much.
DUKE: Cullum Clark is a professor of economics at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He explained that projections from big sports events like the World Cup are generally exaggerated. NPR reached out to FIFA several times asking about details on revenue from the event, but never got a response. Clark said Dallas already has airports, highways, public transportation and entertainment districts to support the World Cup.
CLARK: When the games come to town, it's sort of like a validation, like yes - yes, you are a serious city that did make yourself an obvious host.
DUKE: But even a temporary bump will boost economic activity around the games. People like Andrew Morris are flying into Dallas and the other host cities to spend money on hotels, food and their favorite team's jersey. But spending on safety could reduce any potential windfall. Some host cities are allocating tens of millions of dollars to provide security for the matches, which they legally must provide. Still, the World Cup does offer something potentially more valuable than sales tax revenue - a chance to be on the world stage. Bob Heere is a professor of sports management at the University of North Texas.
BOB HEERE: This tournament gives us the opportunity to show themselves to the rest of the world, saying, hey, you know what? This is a modern, you know, economic powerhouse. Not necessarily, you know, a bunch of oil ranchers and, you know, cowboys all wearing gun.
DUKE: Dallas City Council member Chad West said that aside from direct spending, one of the benefits is the city showcasing its modern infrastructure to entice corporations to relocate. FIFA projects 40% of attendees will be international fans, but visa restrictions and travel bans could result in fewer visitors coming. Heere, who studies international sports events, said that seems likely.
HEERE: That seems like - 40% seems to me like a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED SPORTS ANNOUNCER: He's gone through the outfield (ph).
(SOUNDBITE OF WHISTLE BLOWING)
DUKE: FIFA said it expects to rake in $11 billion from the World Cup. Steven Haynes is a professor of managerial economics at the University of Texas at Dallas. He said the World Cup will benefit FIFA far more than the host cities.
STEVEN HAYNES: For instance, like the Super Bowl, most of that money doesn't go to the local government. It goes to the NFL and to the teams.
DUKE: Now, FIFA is a nonprofit, and it says the money they make gets reinvested back into the game of soccer. So maybe at the end of the day, it isn't a single legal entity or person benefiting. It's soccer, the game at the center of the whole event. For NPR News, I'm Dylan Duke.
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