New York City is preparing to embrace the more than 1 million soccer fans expected to flock to the region for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by spending $20 million on promotional events to lure economic activity to the five boroughs, city officials said Monday.
The tournament, in which every four years men’s soccer teams representing countries across the globe compete to be named world champion, will be held in Canada, Mexico and the U.S., with New Jersey hosting the regional games. Because World Cup games held in the Garden State are projected to generate more than $2 billion in economic activity for the tristate area, according to state officials, the city’s Economic Development Corp. is chipping in to promote the tournament.
The money is part of the $38.7 million allocated to the EDC in the Adams administration’s preliminary budget for fiscal 2026. Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of the EDC, said at a City Council budget hearing that the $20 million will pay for city events to bolster interest in the tournament and attract spending on New York City businesses, such as hotels, restaurants and transportation. The events will also help the city attract brand sponsors to further promote all New York has to offer during the World Cup, added Kimball.
“These kinds of events generate enormous sponsorship opportunities that help pay for the event being here in the first place,” Kimball said during the hearing. “The overall positive economic impact of having both some of the preliminary games, the semifinal games and the final in [the region], the net value to New York City is massive.”
As part of the World Cup, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, will host eight matches between June 13 and July 19, 2026, including the all-important final game. New York and New Jersey officials estimate that 14,000 jobs will be created surrounding the games.
In the past, the Economic Development Corp., which was formed in 1991, has not spent city tax dollars to promote comparable sporting events, such as the U.S. Open tennis tournament, which is held each summer at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens. Traditionally, the city’s Tourism and Conventions agency pays to promote such events. The agency declined to share how much it spends each year on the U.S. Open.
A city comptroller audit in 2019, however, found that the tennis tournament generated up to $349 million in gross revenue, with some $6.6 million paid to the city for rent.
When the 2014 Super Bowl was held in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, a committee of New York and New Jersey agencies spent $81 million on promoting the event. The committee said the sporting event generated roughly $550 million in economic impact for the region in return.
For the World Cup, New Jersey is spending $65 million to upgrade the Meadowlands, the surrounding area and New Jersey Transit to better support crowds.
Not everyone is onboard with the city’s World Cup spending. The $20 million promotional investment comes in the wake of the Economic Development Corp. having less cash on hand now that it’s overseeing the New York City Ferry system, said Sean Campion, director of housing and economic development studies at government watchdog the Citizens Budget Commission.
“We’re seeing more city dollars going to EDC for these types of projects in general, not just the World Cup,” Campion told Crain’s. “EDC has less money left over to do its core economic development functions on its own, whatever you think of the effectiveness.”
