New England Revolution President Brian Bilello said Boston, which hosted its final World Cup match on Thursday, “won the World Cup,” according to Reynolds & Dwinell of the BOSTON HERALD. Bilello’s “triumphant declaration caps off a month-long multicultural carnival that helped alter the region’s sporting identity in a summer that has seen a middling Red Sox team test the city’s patience.” Regan Communications Group Chair & CEO George Regan said, “Boston is Boston, but the Krafts paved the way so the World Cup would be a success” (BOSTON HERALD, 7/9). MASSLIVE‘s Matt Vautour writes Boston Stadium “got good teams, good fan bases and mostly good games.” So many of the things that have “defined this terrific North American World Cup have happened right here” (MASSLIVE, 7/10).
CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION: In Boston, Serres, Silverman, Toby & Nickerson write the World Cup transformed the city of Boston into a “vibrant, global carnival” from leading the charge of tidal wave of Scottish fans and “boisterous crowds” representing Morocco, Haiti, Ghana, Germany, France, England, Iraq and Norway. By day, Boston was a “shifting sea of color; by night, the air buzzed with revelry as the city’s nightlife and dating scene came alive like never before.” There were sold-out crowds for seven games and a “historic tournament was executed without a significant logistical glitch.” What worked for the city was the “Scottish invasion,” packed bars, the game on the field delivered and crime was “at a minimum.” But what did not work was the planning and fundraising woes, the “FIFA Factor,” immigration restrictions, high cost of everything and a “too-short FanFest” (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/10).
NIGHTLIFE BOOST: In Boston, Alexa Gagosz noted with Boston nightlife staying open until 3am ET instead of 2am, “boosted sales, filled seats and dance floors,” begun to “chip away at Boston’s reputation as a city that shuts down too early.” Now, it is “prompting a debate, with some city leaders proposing that the later last call should outlive the summer” (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/9).
