The 2026 FIFA World Cup injected $20 billion into the U.S. economy with a number of host cities experiencing a spending boom, Bank of America has said.
The reported financial boost came despite fears that a number of factors, including President Trump’s tough immigration policy and the U.S. war with Iran, could put off foreign tourists and damage the economic benefits to the U.S.
However, CEO of tournament sponsors Bank of America told CBS News around half of the $40 billion in economic activity generated by the World Cup was in the United States.
“It’s having this on-the-ground economic impact,” Brian Moynihan said on Face the Nation. “Spending is going into what we call bricks-and-mortars – going to bars and restaurants and things like that – not necessarily only the people in the stadium.”
“The people are showing up,” he continued. “They’re having a great time. If you go to a game, you know, they keep the stadium open two or three hours after I was in the quarterfinals in Boston, and the place was full.”
The Bank of America’s July Consumer Checkpoint report found a 6.3 percent year-on-year increase in credit and debit card spending across the country, the strongest growth in four years. Part of this could be attributed to the World Cup, researchers said, with restaurants and bars seeing a particular benefit.
The analysis measured spending over two periods, the first from May 20 until June 9 just before the tournament started and the second from June 10 until June 30. In host cities, spending in restaurants doubled from around 3 percent in the first period to 6 percent in the second.
“We look into host cities like a Kansas City, we can see the growth rate and spending faster than other cities,” Moynihan told CBS.
But while 11 cities hosted games in the U.S. not all saw the same boost, according toThe Wall Street Journal, which said destinations like Philadelphia and Kansas City came out as the big winners.
Hotel revenue in Philadelphia was up more than 50 percent on match days compared to this time last year, according to Costar, with Arlington, Texas seeing record hotel revenue of $31 million last month.
By contrast, major tourist destinations like New York and L.A. appear to have performed below expectations. While The Hotel Association of New York expected the city’s total hotel revenue to still be up by $100 million thanks to the World Cup this was still much lower than the $300 million forecast, Costar added.
On the day the World Cup kicked off on June 11, Reuters reported that the boost to travel and tourism had yet to materialize in the U.S., with flight bookings slumped and high ticket prices proving off-putting for some fans.
“Overall a disappointment. There’s no other word that I can say,” CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City Vijay Dandapani said at the time.
In the run up to the tournament, L.A. hoteliers said bookings were down for the time of year before a last minute surge, the L.A. Times reported.
Nevertheless, the Bank of America’s more recent findings were anecdotally supported by businesses on the ground as the tournament drew to a close at the weekend.
Shea Roggio, co-owner of a Korean fried chicken and sports bar based in Philadelphia, said he grossed $13,000 from a single screening of the England-Norway match held in Miami.
“I never want it to end,” he told The WSJ of his sudden surge in business.
