Tuesday’s Spain-France World Cup semifinal match at Dallas Stadium marked the end of North Texas’ hosting duties as the stadium drew 631,843 fans over the course of nine matches and produced “countless indelible memories” for North Texans and “perhaps as many as 4 million visitors,” according to Brad Townsend of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. Spain beat France 2-0 in front of 70,176 fans. North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee co-Chair Dan Hunt said, “I told FIFA when they were here in 2021 that we do things bigger and better in Texas, especially here in Dallas. I think they now recognize that’s how we do things.” The stadium has been no stranger to big events over the years, but Cowboys VP/Business Operations Chad Estis said, “We found out over the last few weeks that there’s nothing like a World Cup.” Townsend wrote the reaction of many international fans, “looking wide-eyed while walking through the concourses and gawking at the gargantuan videoboard,” was “reminiscent of local fans in the stadium’s early years.” Estis said, “There’s a reputation of our stadium that we’re proud of — and I think it met the moment” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/14).
THE STARS AT NIGHT…: In Ft. Worth, Nick Harris wrote when it was all said and done, “soccer and sports fans of all ages and flavors were catered to.” Harris: “If you wanted to see the absolute best the sport had to offer, you got Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Mohamed Salah. If you wanted to see young emerging superstars, you got Lamine Yamal, Erling Haaland and Yan Diomande. If you wanted to see just pure ballplayers, you got Harry Kane, Virgil van Dijk and Jude Bellingham.” From a team perspective, DFW hosted all four semifinalists and the top seven goal scorers in the entire tournament. When FIFA called on Dallas-Ft. Worth to “deliver with big-name matches and superstars,” it is “hard to imagine that even they could’ve seen a slate so loaded.” Harris: “But that’s exactly what happened, and the area proved to be one of the tournament’s smashing successes” (FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 7/14).
DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS: In Dallas, Kevin Sherrington raised the question of “who left the bigger impression on whom” between the hosts and the visitors. Sherrington: “A little international esprit de corps seems fitting given the overall generosity of spirit. Some of us didn’t see it coming. Frankly, I had visions of traffic jams and ticket scams and befuddled strangers asking which way to the subway. … We heard story after story from visitors who were told to expect the worst. Yet, by their testimony, they seemed to catch us at our best” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/14). A DALLAS MORNING NEWS editorial mentioned that the publication is “happy to report the matches held so far were a resounding triumph.” The World Cup “exceeded any social success one could have predicted” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/14).
