<\/p>\n
Mexico national team fans sit on each others shoulders and dance after Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0 during the first round of the during the FIFA World Cup 2026 which was streamed at the FIFA Fan Festival in Houston, Thursday, June 11, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jacob Lujan\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Brazil fans celebrate Brazil\u2019s 2-1 victory over Japan in the round of 32 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup which was streamed live to the Fan Festival in EaDo, Houston, June 29, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jacob Lujan\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Brazil fans celebrate Brazil\u2019s 2-1 victory over Japan in the round of 32 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup which was streamed live to the Fan Festival in EaDo, Houston, June 29, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jacob Lujan\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Mexico national team fans sit on each others shoulders and dance after Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0 during the first round of the during the FIFA World Cup 2026 which was streamed at the FIFA Fan Festival in Houston, Thursday, June 11, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jacob Lujan\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Brazil fans celebrate Brazil\u2019s 2-1 victory over Japan in the round of 32 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup which was streamed live to the Fan Festival in EaDo, Houston, June 29, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jacob Lujan\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Mexico fans react after during during a watch party against England at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston on Sunday, July 5, 2026.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
When Raul Jacobo learned that Houston would be one of the cities hosting this year\u2019s World Cup, he hoped that his restaurant, Cobo\u2019s, would see the kind of big crowds\u2013and revenue\u2013typical during Houston\u00a0Astros playoff games at nearby Daikin Park.<\/p>\n
While\u00a0FIFA\u2019s Fan Festival<\/a> attracted hundreds of thousands of people just a few blocks from the restaurant, Jacobo said revenue fell far from the $50,000 a day baseball playoffs often drew.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve only had maybe six really, really good days for the World Cup: every time Mexico played,\u201d said\u00a0Jacobo, sitting in a mostly empty restaurant on the dreary afternoon Spain defeated France in a semifinal match last week.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n But the numbers don\u2019t tell the whole story, he said. When the Netherlands defeated Sweden in June, one of seven matches played in Houston\u2019s Reliant Stadium,\u00a0Cobo\u2019s became a sea of orange and yellow, overtaken by fans of those two nations: \u201cThey would not leave. They had the time of their lives.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever I don\u2019t think about the financial side, it\u2019s been really, really fun,\u201d Jacobo said.<\/p>\n Ahead of this year\u2019s tournament, which was co-hosted by Canada and Mexico, FIFA projected that hosting the games would boost the U.S. economy by $30 billion<\/a>, including $1.5 billion in Houston.<\/p>\n WORLD CUP:\u00a0FIFA expects to make $11B from the World Cup. Host cities like Houston will be lucky to break even.<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n So far, the data is mixed and some government figures won\u2019t be available for months. The number of international travelers to the city increased, and thousands of people attended games and fan events. Yet some restaurant owners say the World Cup didn\u2019t provide the financial boost they were hoping for<\/a>, and hotel occupancy rates were flat. Still, in the long term, city business and civic leaders said, the tournament may help Houston attract more visitors in the future by showcasing the city to an international audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe simple answer is: hell yeah, it was worth it. Anybody who was in this city for those 39 days and experienced any part of this can testify to that,\u201d Chris\u00a0Canetti, president of Houston\u2019s World Cup host committee, said Wednesday. \u201cWhen you look at the energy, the excitement, the joy, the memories that were made for so many people\u2013that, in itself, tells you it was worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n International air travel grew 2% during the games<\/a> with about 439,000 international people going through customs between June 12 and July 3, according to Houston Airports. \u00a0More than 480,000 tickets were sold to the seven matches played at Houston Stadium, according to data released Wednesday by the host committee. Forty-four percent of the tickets were purchased by international visitors from more than 200 countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n The tournament drew more than one million visitors to EaDo, the neighborhood east of US 59 and the George R. Brown Convention Center, a 225% increase compared with the same period last summer, according to the \u00a0East Downtown Management District. More than half a million people visited Fan Fest and the Houston Dynamo Soccer Celebration at nearby Shell Stadium, both of which were free to attend, and nearby bars and restaurants saw foot traffic soar, according to the host committee.\u00a0<\/p>\n The picture was mixed for hotels. Hotel occupancy across the Houston region was relatively flat<\/a> during the three-week period games were held in the city, according to Houston First, the local government corporation responsible for the city\u2019s marketing. But hotels still saw revenue increase about 20% percent after raising their daily rates 21% compared to the same period last year. Bookings at\u00a0Airbnbs and other short-term rentals increased around match days<\/a>, according to data provider AirDNA, spiking 40% in the days around Portugal\u2019s two group-stage matches in Houston, against the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uzbekistan.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n WORLD CUP:\u00a0How many visitors did Houston airports get during FIFA World Cup? Here are the numbers<\/a><\/p>\n Sales tax data from the Texas comptroller\u2019s office for June, when Houston hosted most of its matches, won\u2019t be available until later this summer. According to Bank of America<\/a>,\u00a0Houstonians \u2013 those with ZIP codes tied to the Houston region \u2013 spent 2% more during the first few weeks of the World Cup compared with the same period last year, while those from outside the region spent 9% more.<\/p>\n Republic Boot Co. in the Heights sold hundreds of cowboy hats<\/a> during the course of the tournament\u2014about as many as it typically sells during the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, and way more than usual for the middle of summer, said Chris Conrad, owner and founder.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just great exposure for our city,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople were like: wow, I didn\u2019t know Houston was so cool.\u201d<\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s office did not respond to requests for comment on how much the city spent to host the tournament. However,\u00a0Canetti, of the host committee, said private sponsorships, support from the state\u2019s major events fund, and federal grants totaling more than $60 million helped cover costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The tournament was a chance to burnish Houston\u2019s reputation on the national and international stage, said Michael\u00a0Heckman, president and CEO of Houston First.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have long believed that the real value of this was that when people come to Houston\u2013convention attendees, business travelers, the media, or fans, like this\u2013they leave with a better impression than when they got here,\u201d\u00a0Heckman said. \u201cAnd that, for us, has a really great value because it\u2019s better than any advertising you can do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Space Center Houston<\/a> saw a significant increase in visitors compared with last summer, said Keesha Bullock, chief operating and strategy officer, adding that tourists often appeared awed by the experience: “Their eyes get bigger. They start pointing at everything. You can tell that this is the first time that they’ve experienced the scale of human spaceflight.”\u00a0<\/p>\n WORLD CUP:\u00a0Did the World Cup live up to its economic promise for Houston’s restaurants?<\/a><\/p>\n