"We'll be shut down all summer," said Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones. "But it's worth it." That one sentence is the entire financial story of the 2026 World Cup for NFL stadium owners.
Eleven NFL venues are hosting matches this summer. FIFA is projected to pull in around $11 billion in revenue from the tournament. The stadiums hosting it? They keep the rental fee, which FIFA has kept confidential, and essentially nothing else. Sponsorships, tickets, suites, merchandise, concessions, parking — all of it flows back to FIFA. The hosts get the bill and the bragging rights.
What it actually costs to host
The preparation alone has been a logistical grind. Seven stadiums had to rip out artificial turf and install natural grass, complete with underground irrigation and ventilation systems worth millions. The four domed venues — in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles — added LED grow lighting and are keeping their roofs sealed throughout the tournament to run a giant indoor greenhouse. Some stadiums removed concrete, field suites, and lower-bowl seating just to widen the pitch to FIFA's specifications.
Then there's the "clean site" policy. Every corporate logo and advertisement that isn't a FIFA partner has to disappear. Gillette Stadium is now officially "Boston Stadium." AT&T Stadium in Dallas? Same story. Jerry Jones even had to black out the window panels that let sunlight into his own building — and he's been told he can't watch matches from his private suite.
"I think I've got to go someplace else," Jones said. "But that was a part of it."
The opportunity costs stack up fast. The Chiefs won't host a single concert this summer after a record-breaking year in 2024. The Patriots had to reschedule Monster Jam, push their summer concert series into October, and will play three of their first four regular season games on the road. Their Hall of Fame is closed for two months. Their pro shop relocated entirely.
So why do it?
Brand, mostly. And for seven of the eleven owners who also run MLS clubs, there's a genuine strategic play — the 1994 World Cup in the United States effectively launched MLS, and they're banking on a similar lift this time around.
For everyone else, it's about being seen. Hard Rock Stadium CEO Tom Garfinkel framed it as an economic engine for South Florida during the traditionally slow summer hotel season. Mark Wilf, who owns both the Vikings and Orlando City SC, talked about youth engagement and community. These aren't cynical answers, but they're also not revenue lines.
- FIFA retains: ticket sales, sponsorships, suites, merchandise, concessions, parking
- Stadiums receive: an undisclosed rental fee and local organizing committee support for some costs
- Stadiums absorb: pitch conversion, lighting upgrades, seating removal, logo concealment, lost concert revenue, scheduling disruption
Several NFL cities — Chicago, Washington, Minneapolis, Denver, Phoenix — declined to bid. One league official from a non-hosting city put it plainly: "I know more than a few teams weren't disappointed to lose the bid."
Dallas is hosting nine matches, more than any other venue. Jerry Jones, who turned the Cowboys into a $13 billion franchise, the most valuable sports property on earth, is going to spend the summer watching World Cup games from somewhere that isn't his own suite, in a stadium he can't put his name on.
"They'll never be able to take away that we held those games in that stadium," he said. That's the return on investment. A sentence you can say at a dinner party.
