https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/ml ... 31928.htmlDallas took another step in its bid to be a host city for the 2026 World Cup with an official second meeting on Friday with FIFA, soccer’s international governing body.... AT&T Stadium in Arlington is the focus of the Dallas bid that is inclusive of the entire North Texas Region, but headlined by FC Dallas, AT&T Stadium and the Dallas Sports Commission.
...17 American metro areas, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, the New York/New Jersey area, Orlando, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and Washington, D.C., in addition to Dallas.
According to FIFA, 16 cities will make the final cut — three will be awarded to Canada, three will be given to Mexico, and the remaining 10 will go to the United States.... The selections are expected to be made this December
With three stadiums in Arlington, and finally adjacent, cohesive developments of entertainment venues and overnight accommodation torqued to event crowds, I would imagine most of the direct, official World Cup media events would happen in Arlington.
But maybe not.... I don't know if FIFA has anything like the NFL experience during the superbowl, but the Dallas Convention Center was the only place in North Texas big enough to handle all that NFL programming. If FIFA wants an 'experience,' Dallas Convention Center and Fair Park are probably the only two viable options.
As long as VisitDallas ignores the potential of the Fair Park facilities, it will fall well short of it's lofty mission statement:
Our mission is to market Dallas as the ideal convention and visitor destination to the regional, national and international marketplace and to favorably impact the Dallas economy through meetings and tourism.The exhibition halls at Fair Park must be brought into this century! Focusing on those largest scale events that require and fill up a space as large as the convention center is an incomplete effort. The Automobile building and Centennial Hall simply must be renovated and upgraded into the most versatile exhibition spaces in North Texas. The interior space of both building should be at lease doubled... With the Hall of State, the esplanade should be 'marketed' as a single event space indoor and outdoor. Whatever....