House bill gives $50 million a year to cities hosting major sporting events like upcoming World Cup

Al Drago/Bloomberg

U.S. cities hosting major sporting events, including the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026, would be eligible for federal transportation infrastructure funds under a bipartisan bill introduced to the House of Representatives.

House Bill 6348, the Transportation Assistance for Olympic and World Cup Cities Act, would allocate $50 million annually to help local governments improve and modernize transportation infrastructure in advance of next year's FIFA World Cup and future Olympic Games. Cities would be eligible for $10 million per event per year.

Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., the ranking member of the  House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure who also sits on the bipartisan Congressional Soccer Caucus, co-sponsored the measure with Rep. Owens Burgess, R-Utah.

A companion bill, S. 1218, was introduced in the Senate in April. Proponents want to fit the bill into the larger transportation and housing fiscal 2026 appropriations bill next year.

Eleven cities across the U.S. are hosting the 2026 FIFA Games from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Seventy-eight matches will be played across 11 metropolitan areas in the U.S.: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Hosting a single World Cup match can cost cities roughly $100 to $200 million, Larsen said in a statement announcing the bill. "The World Cup needs world-class infrastructure to ensure teams and their fans can safely travel to and from every game," Larsen said.

The cities are responsible for security costs related to the World Cup, while most of the revenues go to the soccer organization. But the influx of visitors are expected to bring economic benefits to the regions.

Seattle's King County, for example, could see a "minimum of $929 million" over the six World Cup matches set to take place at Seattle's Lumen Field, said Visit Seattle on Wednesday. The estimate includes more than $100 million in direct state and local tax revenue.

The National Association of Counties is among the groups that supports the bills, saying they would provide counties with "access to critical funding" to move people around during significant sporting events.

"This legislation not only supports successful event operations but also leaves lasting infrastructure benefits for communities after the games conclude," NACo said.

The bill would authorize funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation to the metropolitan planning organizations in the host regions, and the MPOs would then distribute the funds to eligible entities.

The projects could include road, transit, rail or airport improvements within 100 miles of the host city. The DOT would also be authorized to provide technical and planning assistance to the host governments, and allow for temporary sharing of public transportation assets between host and non-host jurisdictions.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act set aside $625 million in federal funds for security related to next year's World Cup and $1 billion for costs related to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, Calif.

The U.S. last hosted the World Cup in 1994.