Tag: FIFA

Stadium

FIFA made $15B from this World Cup. Actual businesses near the matches? Not so much…

Now that the World Cup is over, I went looking to see how businesses did in host cities. FIFA made $15B in revenue from the current World Cup. That is a considerable amount of money to be taking in from this event. Surely the host cities will see some of that money, right? No, host cities get none of this money. Before I could even look into how local businesses did during the matches, I found FIFA continuing to do everything they could to make it seem like this event was a massive success for everyone involved.

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

World Cup matches were going to cost Boston taxpayers virtually nothing…until now

Today, Boston 26 argues that the city is in “jeopardy” of losing the matches unless $20 million in taxpayer money is given to them. Keep in mind that Boston 26 was first trying to demand almost $40 million but they have since brought that down to $20 million mark. But didn't Boston 26 say they wouldn't ask taxpayers for help? That everything was already in place?

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

Santa Clara is not spending taxpayer money on the World Cup. Wait, yes they are

For those who don't know, Levi Stadium in Santa Clara was selected to be one of 16 cities hosting World Cup games in 2026. The six games at Levi Stadium will be played between June 13 and July 1 of next year. Considering how contentious the history has been between the San Francisco 49ers and the city of Santa Clara, I figured something would blow up with this event. Then I recently saw this headline in the San Jose spotlight (“Santa Clara isn’t spending taxpayer money on World Cup upgrades”) and was a bit intrigued. In the article, the author claims…

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

The San Francisco 49ers promise to pay for all World Cup expenses…somewhat…kind of…maybe?

Last week, the San Francisco 49ers publicly vowed to cover Santa Clara’s expenses for the World Cup games. The 49ers will use money that they received from their NFL operations to cover the costs. One estimate claims that it will cost Santa Clara about $50M to stage the games. Except, as the mayor reminded everyone, the 49ers promised to only cover all “approved costs”. That can be interpreted many ways, considering the terrible history between the 49ers and the mayor. Keep in mind that the people of Southern California have been told next to nothing about the local finances of…

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

FIFA absurdity continues, this time they are milking New Jersey with no contract

This is intentional. This is how FIFA operates. They do not want the public involved in anything apart from going to the matches and watching it on TV. This is why host cities do not tell their residents beforehand about the many millions that will be spent on upgrading their venues or enriching FIFA members who are attending the games. So, I shouldn't be shocked when one day, I see New Jersey giving 25 million dollars of taxpayer money to upgrade MetLife for the World Cup. With zero public notice or involvement. Don't forget about the additional $17 million…

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

The World Cup is going to make everyone billions and billions of dollars

Mexico, the United States, and Canada will jointly host the 2026 World Cup. As the event approaches, cities are getting prepared for the upcoming games. It is rather surprising to see how different cities are reacting to the World Cup approaching. Some cities are outraged at the rising costs, some cities are falling in love with their economic impact projections, and some are just happy to have the games coming to their city. Unfortunately, some cities now realize that the expense of staging these games can massively outweigh the so-called benefits. Most leaders in host cities do not fully…

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

San Francisco 49ers continue to find new ways of screwing over Santa Clara

Santa Clara continues to claim that the 49ers are hiding financial information from the city. A civil grand report from last year claims that the city of Santa Clara hadn't seen any revenue from…events in six years nor have they seen any money from…events from the stadium's most recent fiscal year. When it was announced last year that a report was being done by a civil grand jury, the 49ers responded with an unusual act of having a 49ers executive follow, investigate and harass the jurors.

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

Vancouver’s mayor plays the quiet game when asked about World Cup expenses

Last year, 16 cities, including Seattle and Vancouver, were selected to be hosts for the 2026 World Cup matches. Then FIFA told every city to just shut up if anyone asked about expenses. FIFA was tired of answering questions from cities. It is well-known that the hosting cities are expected to pay most of the costs. But when cities like Chicago, Vancouver and Minneapolis tried to get a basic level of certainty on some major unknowns, FIFA ignored them. Cities had to decide whether they could figure out a number of huge and unpredictable costs without FIFA help.

William Neilson Jr.