There's a buzz around what Los Angeles is and isn't doing to get ready for the 2028 Olympics/Paralympics. But much sooner L.A. County will host a portion of the 2026 World Cup.
The World Cup soccer tournament is arguably bigger than the Olympics; more people view World Cup. But the 2026 World Cup is being hosted by three countries - the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. It will be a mega-event, but Los Angeles is one of 16 host cities.
The cup kicks off June 11 in Mexico City. One hundred and four matches later, it concludes at a July 19 final in New York New Jersey.
From June 13 to July 7, "L.A." will host eight games, all at the SoFi Stadium in the city of Inglewood. Five L.A. matches are part of the group stage, which can vary a lot. Some group stage match-ups are great; some are lopsided blow-outs. L.A. hosts just three knock-out stage matches; these are the compelling dramatic "business end" of the tournament where teams win or go home.
So, eight big international matches. It is definitely big, but perhaps more along the lines of a week of Beyoncé or Taylor Swift concerts big, and not quite multiple simultaneous 2028 Olympics venues BIG.
At a recent board budget workshop, Metro shared the outlines of its 2026 World Cup transportation plans.
Metro is seeking $25 million in federal funding (not easily to come by under the current administration) for additional transit operations, and supporting customer experience costs.
Similar to the 2028 Paralympics/Olympics, much of Metro's 2026 plan is increasing transit service, mostly buses. For the eight soccer matches, Metro is looking at deploying an additional 330 buses. Increased service would include both Metro and extensions of municipal bus routes such as Gardena GTrans, Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, Culver CityBus, etc. Some bus lines would shuttle to/from relatively close large park-and-ride lots.
It's an inexact comparison, but Metro spent a total of around $660,000 for added service and related activation in support of six Taylor Swift SoFi Stadium concerts in 2023. (For 2028, Metro is seeking $2.3 billion for operation/activation.)
That's the plan mainly for the ticketed matches themselves. But there should be a lot more going on outside the stadium.
The World Cup is a time when fans gather at watch parties. These come in lots of sizes and shapes, often connected to the nation competing. France fans gather at Taix restaurant for France matches. South Korea fans gather by the thousands to watch their "Reds" on multi-story video screens along Wilshire Boulevard at Serrano Avenue. Pico Union soccer stores install temporary viewing theaters.
There will be a 2026 official Fanfest at Exposition Park, and not-yet-finalized Fan Zones in each of the five county supervisor districts. But as Torched has reported, some other host cities have already announced ambitious public viewing plans. Manhattan-adjacent "sixth borough" Jersey City announced its mega fan fest will screen the entire tournament.
Early 2026 World Cup plans called for CicLAvias, murals/arts programs, and more (see page 65-66). These are still in the works, but time and money are running somewhat short. With a serious city budget shortfall, and the aforementioned federal funding reluctance, even relatively low-cost event programming could be scaled way back.
And speaking of the federal government, there are questions of how current federal stances might impact international visitors. Vice President J.D. Vance and other federal officials have made offputting remarks about World Cup tourists overstaying their visas.
Various administration positions and programs - from isolationism to air traffic safety issues - could depress anticipated World Cup tourism for the United States and for Los Angeles. Hopefully, the various levels of government - from cities to the nation - can collaborate to pull off a 2026 World Cup that Los Angeles will be proud to be a big part of.
