Dallas outlines World Cup plans: free fan festival at Fair Park, International Broadcast Center at convention center

Dallas city leaders and World Cup organizers briefed the City Council on the city’s role in FIFA 2026 and on preparations to host the International Broadcast Center and a large public fan festival at Fair Park.

The city’s Convention and Event Services director Rosa Fleming and the North Texas organizing committee said the broadcast center will be hosted at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, where FIFA began build-out in mid‑January, and will be fully operational by late May. “The IBC is going to be the global hub for broadcast activity throughout the tournament,” said Brett Wilkinson, the city’s FIFA staff lead, describing the center as a once‑in‑a‑generation publicity opportunity for Dallas.

Organizers described Fair Park as the site for a fan festival that will be free and open to the public and will run at least 34 days. “The fan festival is free and open to the public. Hard stop,” Noelle Labeaux said, adding that the footprint will use the Dos Equis Pavilion as the main stage with adjacent activations in Lot 10 and a one‑time capacity of roughly 35,000. Officials said they'll program community days, local‑artist stages and three to four ticketed concerts on days with lighter match schedules.

Public safety and federal coordination were a major focus. Rocky Vaz, who leads regional safety planning, said the event is rated under federal event standards that bring additional federal assets and that a federal coordinator has been named; he also noted that a North Texas organizing committee grant of roughly $50.3 million was awarded for safety and security. Dallas police representatives described expanded training and a regional command-and-control structure built with federal, state and local partners.

Transportation planning centers on multimodal access into downtown and Fair Park. Officials said they are finalizing pedestrian and bike corridors, wayfinding and a regional mobility plan prepared by the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Draft routing and map products will be uploaded into the FIFA and local apps and distributed to hotels; staff said they expect to provide clearer route maps to council members and the public within weeks.

Organizers emphasized local business participation. More than 20 local‑vendor RFIs have closed and additional RFIs will be posted; staff urged businesses to register for the North Texas Business Connect program. The volunteer recruitment operation reported more than 10,000 volunteer tryouts to date, and the host committee expects roughly 6,500 volunteers will be engaged across venues. Officials also outlined legacy ambitions — mini soccer pitches, green infrastructure and workforce upskilling — and said community submissions for legacy mini‑pitches are being collected.

What’s next: city staff said they will continue briefings and testing exercises, and promised more detailed route maps and a Friday memo on how Fair Park sites and neighborhood impacts will be managed. The organizing committee will release a first version of the Human Rights Action Plan and training materials on Feb. 16, with a final version expected in May, pending FIFA approval.

Council members pressed staff for district‑specific routing, neighborhood outreach, STR enforcement plans during the tournament and clearer public communication. City staff committed to additional public materials, quarterly briefings for council and follow‑ups on outstanding technical questions.