Houston’s 2026 FIFA World Cup games are getting closer and closer, and major changes are underway across the city of Houston in preparation for the event. The bad news is those changes promise to be expensive.
One of the biggest projects related to FIFA is the massive revamp of Main Street downtown, which includes the planting of 41 new shade trees. According to reporting from our TV partner Channel 2, that project alone will cost around $14 million.
Charles Blain with Urban Reform says that’s just the beginning. “There are also things being done in the east end, and that doesn’t even include funding for the public safety aspect of it, which is going to be something like $64 million,” he said.
Blain says at the end of the day, all the money for various improvements, changes, or upgrades to the city or our sports venues is going to end up coming from the taxpayers one way or another. That means the big question is: Will we see a return on that investment?
“Big events that are done in cities and counties usually return about 30–60% below what they project that they’re going to produce,” Blain said. That means Houstonians really won’t have much to show for the FIFA World Cup being here beyond just being able to say the matches were here.