{"id":78210,"date":"2025-12-06T04:03:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T04:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/78210\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T04:03:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T04:03:15","slug":"lionel-messi-argentina-could-draw-massive-crowd-to-north-texas-drive-up-ticket-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/78210\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi, Argentina could draw massive crowd to North Texas, drive up ticket prices"},"content":{"rendered":"

FORT WORTH \u2014 As soon as he learned Lionel Messi\u2019s Argentina had been placed in Group J of the 2026 World Cup<\/a>, Esteban Arce erupted in joy and leaped nearly to the ceiling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching Messi and the reigning world champions play in a World Cup is a dream. It\u2019s truly incredible,\u201d said Arce, one of 100s of fans who gathered Friday at Billy Bob\u2019s Texas in Fort Worth for the official World Cup Draw watch party.<\/p>\n

While the exact match schedule for AT&T Stadium will be announced Saturday, the prospect of Argentina playing at the Cowboys home is very real<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Sports Roundup<\/p>\n

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AT&T Stadium will host more World Cup games than any other venue, nine, including a semifinal. Five of those will be in the group stage: two from Group F, two from Group J and one from Group L.<\/p>\n

Arce secured tickets during the presale phase, including seats for Group J matches.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrother, this is amazing,\u201d said Arce, a Colombian national wearing a Boca Juniors jersey, one of Argentina\u2019s most popular clubs.<\/p>\n

Howdy, FIFA! See photos from Fort Worth’s 2026 World Cup draw watch party<\/p>\n

\"GrandView Gallery<\/p>\n

Messi, regarded as one of the greatest players in history, led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title in Qatar. His potential appearance in Arlington, alongside the reigning champions, is expected to send ticket prices soaring<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese will surely be among the most coveted and expensive tickets of the entire World Cup,\u201d said Andy Swift, secretary of the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee.<\/p>\n

Swift noted that FIFA has adopted a dynamic pricing model, meaning matches featuring elite teams and star players will carry premium costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can expect a ticket to see Messi and Argentina in the group stage to cost more than a Super Bowl ticket,\u201d Swift said.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Messi currently plays for Inter Miami, and his 2023 arrival in the MLS was another watershed moment for a league that was built on the success of the 1994 World Cup in the United States.<\/p>\n

In fact, Messi\u2019s first competitive road match with Miami was at FC Dallas, and his arrival similarly drove up ticket prices<\/a> and interest. Miami plays in Saturday\u2019s MLS Cup final against Vancouver.<\/p>\n

If Argentina does play at AT&T Stadium, the team is likely to select one of FIFA\u2019s six approved base camps in North Texas<\/a>. Among them is Toyota Stadium, home of FC Dallas.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"TCU's<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love that to happen,\u201d said Jimmy Smith, treasurer of the board of directors of the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no bigger name in soccer. For Messi, who already plays in MLS, Toyota Stadium could be his home for a month and a half,\u201d added Smith, who also serves as FC Dallas COO & CFO.<\/p>\n

The next phase for ticketing opens Dec. 11, and fans can enter a lottery for the chance to buy a ticket. The cost of World Cup tickets on second-hand ticket markets are in the hundreds and thousands of dollars already.<\/p>\n

Base camps will be chosen by the 48 national teams competing in next summer\u2019s tournament, with higher-ranked teams selecting first. Argentina currently sits second in FIFA\u2019s rankings, behind Spain.<\/p>\n

The arrival of powerhouse teams in North Texas is expected to bring an influx of visitors<\/a> to the region.<\/p>\n

Arce, who also holds tickets for matches in other U.S. cities, noted that Dallas stands out as one of the most affordable destinations in terms of hotels, Airbnb rentals and airfare.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiami, New York, Los Angeles, their prices are crazy high,\u201d Arce said. \u201cDallas is by far the most affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s World Cup draw<\/a> at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington confirmed that AT&T Stadium could host several global heavyweights. <\/p>\n

Group F features the Netherlands (seventh in FIFA ranking), while Group L includes England (fourth) and Croatia (10th).<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"From<\/p>\n

The U.S. men\u2019s national team could also play in AT&T Stadium in the round of 32 if it finishes second in its group, which includes Paraguay, Australia and the European playoff winner among Slovakia, Kosovo, Turkey and Romania.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s an accessible group for the United States,\u201d Swift said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralia is a relatively strong team, but one the U.S. can beat, and I don\u2019t believe the European team that comes out of the playoff will be much of a threat. The group is manageable for the U.S. team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan Hunt, president of FC Dallas and co-chair of the North Texas World Cup Organizing Committee, expressed his excitement about the prospect of powerhouse teams like Argentina, England and the Netherlands potentially playing matches at AT&T Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great draw for Dallas,\u201d said Hunt, speaking by phone from Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have the chance to welcome all these teams to AT&T Stadium is incredible. Fans will get to watch some of the greatest players in the world right here in the group stage,\u201d Hunt said.<\/p>\n

World Cup organizers from North Texas bask in draw pageantry, prepare for hard work ahead<\/a>Everything North Texans should know about 2026 World Cup draw: Results, tickets and more<\/a><\/p>\n

Find more World Cup coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT WORTH \u2014 As soon as he learned Lionel Messi\u2019s Argentina had been placed in Group J of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78211,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[150,8079,102,104,103,2124,116,154,3692,29003],"class_list":{"0":"post-78210","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-arlington","9":"tag-att-stadium","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-headlines","12":"tag-dallas-news","13":"tag-fc-dallas","14":"tag-fort-worth","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-world-cup","17":"tag-world-cup-2026"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}