Dallas city officials are looking at how to handle all that comes with being a 2026 FIFA World Cup host city. Elected officials wanted to know more about safety plans and what the potential economic impact could be during Wednesday’s briefing.
The tournament starts in June 2026 — a little more than a year away. AT&T Stadium in Arlington will play host to nine FIFA matches, while Dallas’ Fair Park — and other venues across the city — will be used for the tournament’s fan festivals.
The Dallas City Council voted to approve a contract to make the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center the tournament’s International Broadcast Center. The venue will host thousands of journalists from all over the world coming to Dallas to cover the World Cup.
“The World Cup will be the largest event Dallas has ever hosted,” Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said during Wednesday’s council meeting. “As you can imagine hosting an event of this scale requires meticulous planning at every single level.”
But a global event comes with a lot of security needs and council members wanted more information.
“Is Dallas Police Department going to need more help?” District 6 Council Member Omar Narvaez asked during the meeting. “Are there other law enforcement agencies that we would be bringing in to do certain things?”
Police officials said they were looking at staffing levels, additional security hired outside of the department and mutual aid.
District 12 Council Member Cara Mendelsohn, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, said there wasn’t much more elected officials could add to the security aspect — other than “being able to help secure additional dollars” for the department.
But she did have one question.
“[Will] there be any kind of change in the city’s posture in addressing homelessness?” Mendelsohn asked during the meeting.
Tolbert said the work the city is currently doing will continue moving forward.
“We are working very closely with the [Dallas] Sports Commission but the team that’s actually on the ground,” Tolbert said. “This is a collaborative process that’s going to definitely involve all of the key partners across the region…homelessness will definitely be one of those issues we continue to address.”
Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins stressed the importance of transportation during the event. Although the matches will be held in Arlington — and there is no light rail connection to the city — Atkins said he wanted to make sure City Hall is supporting Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART).
“Without transportation [the World Cup] would fail…because people cannot get where they need to go on a timeline,” Atkins said.
Some council members had questions about contingency plans if there is a natural disaster. Narvaez wanted to know what happens if, say, there’s a hurricane in Houston.
“…Because usually we’re the ones that help out in that situation,” Narvaez said.
Officials said FIFA hadn’t released its plans to the city but it also hadn’t asked Dallas to take on more games in case a natural disaster does happen.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Adam Bazaldua was more interested in what happens to potential evacuees in that situation and wanted to know if the city was prepared for that scenario while hosting the World Cup.
“Internally the city’s got a public safety working group…I know they are looking at all of that,” Rocky Vaz, the tournament’s Director of City Services and the International Broadcast Center, said.
Convention center officials said the tournament could bring in billions in economic impact. The 2026 World Cup begins June 11 with two matches — one in Guadalajara, Mexico and the other in Mexico City.
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