Dallas is considering a plan to close downtown streets to vehicle traffic during the World Cup to draw visitors to the city.
City leaders say the open streets plan would give downtown a celebratory atmosphere with street vendors, thousands of pedestrians and possibly even bicycle valets.
Arlington’s AT&T Stadium will host nine FIFA World Cup matches in June and July, and other cities are looking for ways to get a piece of the tourism prize. Dallas is hosting the International Broadcast Center at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center downtown and a free fan festival in Fair Park expected to draw 35,000 revelers a day.
Closing streets could bring some of the celebration downtown, city council members said this week during a briefing at a transportation committee meeting. The World Cup is expected to generate $1.5 to $2 billion in economic impact on North Texas.
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Council member Cara Mendelsohn said this is an opportunity to highlight downtown Dallas to national and international visitors but also locals.
“I think there’s just a huge opportunity here to get people out in the streets, have a very significant police presence, not a significant homeless presence, and really change that narrative from what people think downtown is when they haven’t been here to what it actually is,” Mendelsohn said. “I can’t think of a better place to shut down streets and make this really spectacular.”
Under the proposal, Main Street from Ervay to Field streets and Akard Street from Elm to Commerce streets would close. City staff outlined two options: fully-day closures every Sunday from June 21 to July 12 or one single entire weekend, either June 21-22, July 4-5 or July 11-12.
City staff said they would continue to work on funding and logistics before the council votes on a plan. The city is working with Downtown Dallas, Inc.
Some council members said they would like open street celebrations to continue beyond the World Cup.
“Frankly, I’d like to see it happen one weekend a month going forward,” said council member Paul Ridley, who represents downtown.