Host committees in the USA are discussing ways in which to leverage next summer’s World Cup to bring new business to their cities and boost economic development.
Recently, the respective movers and shakers from each participating city met at the Paley Center in New York City to exchange strategies and ideas about ways to engage as many people as possible as the world descends on the U.S.
“Those who will have tickets will have the experience of the match,” said Dan Corso, Atlanta Host Committee president. “For those who don’t have a ticket, that’s where the cities and host committees ask: ‘How do we show-off a bit and create experiences for these visitors who may not have been to our city or have not been there in quite a while?’
“While fans will want to come for a game, the question then becomes: ‘How can we keep them in our cities after the matches and help our businesses?’
“We have eight matches in downtown Atlanta, but all of Georgia is going to be hosting it,” Corso said. “We can drive tourism to the different markets, but we also see this as an economic development play. We’re going to have companies from all over the world coming in to follow their nation and watch their nations play in our city, and here’s a chance for us to talk about why Georgia is the number one state to do business for 11 years running.”
This theme was the driving force behind the gathering.
“We’re the gateway to the Americas, the Caribbean,” said Alina Hudak, Miami Host Committee president and CEO. “It’s not just that we’re the gateway to the Americas; it’s who we are in terms of our residents. We think this is an opportunity to showcase who we are internationally.”
For Kansas City, the only flyover host city, they have a huge opportunity to leverage an entire swathe of the country that often gets overlooked.
“It is important for us to think about all the people who live in the region,” said Pam Kramer, Kansas City’s Host Committee CEO. “We feel like we’re representing the middle of the country. It’s remarkable the joy that’s coming with those fans, so creating a relationship between the people of our communities and those fans is important.”
Of the 104 matches in next summer’s World Cup, 27 will be in the East Region. With relatively short flights between Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia and New York/New Jersey, those host committees are planning for more than activations and economic opportunities within their destinations. They are also promoting the chance to see multiple matches in a tight geographic footprint.
“It’s just a massive opportunity for us,” said Alex Lasry, New York/New Jersey Host Committee CEO. “The fact that they can go to three host cities so seamlessly is a huge opportunity for us to bring even more people into our region, to bring even more people to experience all that we have to offer.”
“There’s going to be 30 days where matches aren’t going on, and that is an opportunity for other cities to recruit and advertise and to bring people to come visit,” Lasry said. “And that’s something that we talk to cities, mayors, tourism bureaus from all across the region about—what can we do to make sure that we’re putting city guides on our websites.”
“There’s really only one area without getting on an airplane that that is possible, and that’s the Northeast corridor,” said Philadelphia Host City Executive Meg Kane. “Fans want to collect the experiences.”
Host regions are banking on the impact of the games lasting beyond the result.
“I had the pleasure of hearing about one retirement home that was just redoing their community center,” said Mike Loynd, CEO of the Boston Host Committee. “The idea was that the residents of that retirement home would just have a special moment for themselves at the World Cup. We can’t provide tickets for everyone and that’s not really our role in this, but we can provide special moments and viewing opportunities for residents that is really something special to remember.”
As FIFA President Gianni Infantino has boasted, this World Cup has the potential to break attendance and economic records.