NRG Stadium, which hosted the Super Bowl in 2017, will have five or six matches at the 2026 World … [+] Cup. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Long before Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup trophy to celebrate Argentina winning the 2022 tournament, Houston was preparing for its own iconic soccer moment.
The Texan city, the fourth largest in the United States, is one of 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup to be co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Five years ago, Houston was among 32 U.S. cities to bid to host matches in 2026. In June, soccer world governing body FIFA announced the host cities for the tournament. Houston was on the list.
In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 finals, in Qatar, it would be normal to look at what lessons the next hosts can learn from the tournament. But the World Cup in four years will be very different.
As well as the first with 48 teams (up from the current 32-team format), it will be the first hosted across three countries.
“What’s interesting to me, is Qatar is about the size of the greater Houston area in square mileage. We have 7 million people here in that area. And (Qatar) had everything going on in that one space, from eight venues to one kind of fan fest and all the hotels,” Chris Canetti, president of the Houston 2026 World Cup Bid Committee, told me.
“What I really think we need to take from Qatar more than anything is a visual of what FIFA expectations are in terms of how a World Cup is run. We’re not going to be the same. The circumstances are so completely unique and different that to say a thing that worked a certain way there is going to work here might be challenging. But what are the standards? What are the expectations? And how do we apply that to work in our country or in our market?”
Though Canetti could not visit Qatar during the tournament, two other members of the Houston bid did – Janis Burke, CEO of the Harris County Houston Sports Authority and Leah Mastaglio, assistant general manager at NRG Park. The 72,000-seat NRG Stadium, within NRG Park, will host Houston’s matches.
One focus of the most-recent World Cup, arguably the most controversial ever, was whether it should have been held in Qatar given the size of the nation and its human rights record. Global sporting events remain an opportunity for political protesters to raise awareness of a range of issues.
DOHA, QATAR – NOVEMBER 23: Germany players pose with their hands covering their mouths as they line … [+] up for the team photos prior to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group E match between Germany and Japan at Khalifa International Stadium on November 23, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
“I can say the last few years in our country there have been peaceful protests in a lot of cities around social issues that have taken place. And Houston has stood tall in terms of how it’s handled those in every way, shape and form,” Canetti said.
“And we’ve noted that in our bid, in terms of our community’s ability to work together on issues like that and make the most of them and solve them.”
There were several factors that made Houston an attractive host city for FIFA, Canetti said.
In terms of infrastructure, NRG Stadium is “pretty much good to go” with only scheduled upgrades needed before 2026. The city also has two international airports and is one of only two cities with direct flights to all inhabited continents, including regular services to other host cities in the three host nations.
Houston also has a track record hosting major sporting events including two Super Bowls.
“We’ve hosted more major sporting events than any other city since 2004. So we’ve got a track record of success of hosting these types of events,” Canetti said.
“We have a community here that believes in the value of sports and major sporting events in terms of the role they play in the development of a city.
“So from our leadership down, we’ve created a culture of sports as being critical to our city’s growth and to helping improve the quality of life of our residents.”
The economic impact, Canetti said, will be “significant”. A 2018 study by Boston Consulting Group for U.S. Soccer estimated individual host cities could expect between $160 million and $620 million in incremental economic activity. The net benefit per city would be between $90 million and $480 million after potential public costs.
When Houston hosted the Super Bowl – a one-off match with about a week’s worth of events beforehand – it brought the region a net economic impact of $347 million. For the World Cup, a roughly month-long event, Houston will host five or six matches. Canetti expects a potential benefit in the ten figures.
“You could do the multipliers and easily come up with numbers that are north of $1 billion,” he said.
“There are so many variables though, in terms of what teams do we get at the end of the day and the number of people that travel in.
“If we get Argentina and Mexico, that’s one thing. If we get two smaller countries, that’s another. But nonetheless, (the economic impact is) going to be significantly greater than that Super Bowl.”
The financial demands of hosting a World Cup can prove costly to some cities and countries. FIFA’s financial requirements, including tax breaks, saw cities like Minneapolis, Chicago and Glendale, Arizona, withdraw bids to host.
No new stadiums will have to be built in the U.S. for the 2026 tournament though, and host cities Houston and Dallas will benefit from Texas’s tax-funded Major Events Reimbursement Program (MERP). Designed to assist cities in hosting major sporting events, organizers can apply for funds to cover spending. Organizers of the Super Bowl in 2017 received $25.7 million from MERP.
HOUSTON, TX – JUNE 21: Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina dribbles the ball against John Brooks #6 of … [+] United States in the second half during a 2016 Copa America Centenario Semifinal match at NRG Stadium on June 21, 2016 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
The legacy of Houston’s team bid will not only be financial. Canetti said the commitment to leaving a lasting impact was “a driving force of our bid.”
A non-profit Soccer Innovation Institute in Houston will oversee legacy projects focused on growing the game for all, enhancing the fan experience and impacting social and environmental responsibility. The institute has already run a think tank on human rights and how soccer can help promote positive social change. Another key legacy idea is to create “an everlasting youth soccer club for the inner-city youth.”
“We feel like Houston is a community that has a lot of tremendous resources that can be brought together under one umbrella to help influence legacy, whether that’s growing the game, human rights, sustainability, whatever it might be,” Canetti said.
“The way we proposed it to FIFA was that if there’s a solution they would like us to help solve around the game of football, for example mitigating head injuries, we’ve got the largest medical center in the world here (Texas Medical Center). We’ve got NASA. We’ve got so many different resources that we can activate and mobilize to help work on these things.”
Houston’s time in the global soccer spotlight in three-and-a-half years may only be brief. It is hoped the impact will last a lot longer.