TEXAS — The first World Cup game in Texas is Saturday, June 14, at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington. Bars in the Lone Star State are expecting a wave of crowds for those who can’t attend the game in person.
The general manager of B.D. Riley’s Irish Pub at Mueller, Stefon Rutter, is expecting to pour a lot of Guinness this weekend for all the fans.
“We’re anticipating it’s going to be a pretty crazy World Cup this summer,” said Rutter.
Both Houston and Dallas are the main hubs for these games, but Austin is also expecting an influx of people.
“We’ve already had a bunch of calls about certain games here and there,” said Rutter.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation announced that it has selected Austin as its base camp during the FIFA World Cup. Bars in Austin are expecting an international crowd. The regional director for the Texas Restaurant Association, Stephanie Rosendahl, said it’s too early to see the impact it will have on restaurants and bars.
“They are preparing. Some businesses are… are preparing by having staff or setting marketing up, promotions, things of that nature,” said Rosendahl.
At some bars in Austin, signs outside the doors say, “World Cup Watch Party.” Some have flags lining their bars to market the event.
“They’ve gotten really good at, you know, maneuvering through everybody, making sure everybody gets taken care of. And I’m very happy and very lucky that we have the staff that we do. So I’m very confident going forward into this World Cup that we’re going to be able to handle whatever gets thrown at us,” said Rutter.