Governor Touts Economic Impacts Of FIFA World Cup In PA

(The Center Square) – A few hours before France and Iraq kick off for a World Cup match in south Philadelphia, Gov. Josh Shapiro made an appearance at the FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill.

He expects the World Cup to have a significant economic impact for Pennsylvania. 

“We’re looking at $770 million in economic impact here,” Shapiro said in response to a question from The Center Square.

In total, there are 16 host cities for the World Cup across North America. 

Philadelphia, one of the 11 host cities in the United States, has seen large crowds in attendance for the matches. The fan festival, which is free and open to the public, has already hosted hundreds of thousands of people since the tournament began. 

On Friday, nearly 55,000 people visited the FIFA Fan Festival in Philadelphia, which the Sports Business Journal reports is “by far” the highest single-day attendance figure for any of the 13 official public World Cup viewing spaces across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The outlet also reports that in addition to setting the single-day record, Philadelphia’s Fan Festival is among the leaders in terms of overall attendance, with 242,883 in attendance through Sunday. 

“This is Philly, man, we know how to do big things, and it’s extraordinary to see people come out, just happy and joyful, cheering for their team,” Shapiro said. “It’s one of the unique things about sports, it can bring different people together, and so I’m glad that Philly is a welcoming city and welcoming people from all across the world to be here and just be here and enjoy it.”

As of Monday afternoon, two games have been played at Philadelphia Stadium, with four more on the horizon. Five of the matches will be in the group stage, while one will be a round of 16 knockout match on July 4.

While Philadelphia is the lone city in Pennsylvania hosting matches for the event, Reading, Scranton, and Pittsburgh will also host FIFA World Cup Fan Zones.

Each Fan Zone, according to Visit PA, “blends the tournament with what makes each place its own: Local food and drinks. Live music. Soccer activations. Space to hang out, show up with friends, or make new ones. And, they’re all free and open to the public, with advance registration to keep things comfortable.”

“I think you’re going to see a lot of excitement there too,” Shapiro said. 

Shapiro has lauded the World Cup coming to Philadelphia as a historic moment for the city, coinciding with the nation’s 250th birthday. 

“I think the world needs some more togetherness, needs some more cheer, and this is a great opportunity for that,” he said.

While most in Pennsylvania have talked about this being an opportunity to showcase the state, some elected officials outside of the commonwealth don’t think it will provide an economic boost. 

Rahm Emanuel, former White House Chief of Staff and former mayor of Chicago, said he declined Chicago to be a host city for the World Cup, claiming FIFA was asking taxpayers to foot too much of the bill. 

“I want to be clear, I’m hoping these are very successful games,” Emanuel said in a recent interview with NBC Chicago. “I don’t wish anybody ill; that said, every other city now…got the short straw and is losing money because FIFA weight takes out all the cash and you get all the bills.”

Shapiro told the Center Square that he hadn’t seen Emanuel’s comments, but expressed confidence that the tournament will benefit Pennsylvania, citing the record-setting crowds already seen at Philadelphia’s Fan Fest.

“It’s not just people here,” Shapiro said to the Center Square at the Fan Festival. “It’s people in our hotels, our restaurants, our bars.” 

He mentioned that a food truck brought in over $100,000 in business at the fan festival.

“It’s an example of the economic impact we’re seeing, and we’ll do a full accounting for this afterwards,” Shapiro said.

During a previous press conference in March, Shapiro said that the World Cup is expected to draw 500,000 visitors to Pennsylvania and create 6,615 jobs in the state.

The FIFA fan festival at Lemon Hill in Philadelphia opened on June 11 and will last every day until the final day of the tournament on July 19.

During his visit on Monday afternoon, Shapiro shook hands and met with soccer fans and volunteers from a wide variety of countries. He also said he’d be in attendance for the game on Monday evening between France and Iraq, which would be the second match he’s attended in person.

Politico has described Shapiro as “the prospective 2028 presidential campaign field’s biggest World Cup fan.”

In Pittsburgh, Fan Zone events are scheduled for July 4, 5, 9, and 19 at Acrisure Stadium. Scranton’s Courthouse Square will host fan zone events on July 4, 5, 18, and 19. And in Reading, Santander Arena will host fan zone events on July 3, 4, 18, and 19.

While the World Cup is currently garnering a lot of attention, Pennsylvania has hosted other noteworthy sporting events in 2026. 

In April, 805,000 fans attended the NFL Draft that took place in Pittsburgh, which was a record for the three-day draft, according to the NFL.

In May, the PGA Championship was held at the Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

Next month, the MLB All-Star Game will head to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

In preparation for an influx of visitors, Shapiro signed a bipartisan bill in March that would allow bars and restaurants to stay open until 4 A.M. between June 11 and July 20.

“People predicted the end of the world, man, everything’s going great,” Shapiro said, when asked about that bill. “Everybody’s being responsible. It’s great.”

This story was first published by the The Center Square, a statehouse and statewide news news organization.