Next year, 11 U.S. cities will host World Cup matches. Officials are promising big returns: $653 million for Kansas City, Mo.; $594 million for Los Angeles; and $400 million for Dallas/Fort Worth. FIFA claims the national impact will exceed $17 billion in GDP.
While FIFA and host cities often tout massive returns to justify public funding, research consistently questions these optimistic projections — particularly for events like the World Cup. One recent study concluded, “The results generally show that the observed impact of the World Cup has been a fraction that touted by the event boosters, and frequently the observed impact…
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