At first glance, it appears the City of Santa Clara has done its best to insulate itself from the $11.4 million in expected costs associated with hosting the FIFA World Cup at Levi’s Stadium.
At its Feb. 11 meeting, the council will discuss three agreements presented by the Forty-Niners Stadium Management Company LLC (ManCo) and the Bay Area Host Committee (BAHC). If the city agrees to the contracts, the BAHC will take on all the costs and responsibilities tied to hosting the World Cup and cover most of the city’s expenses.
The deal is designed to allay concerns from council members about the costs associated with hosting the event. The BAHC has agreed to reimburse the city for public safety and employee time connected to FIFA activities and the 49ers’ TeamCo has agreed to serve as guarantor in the event that the BAHC cannot pay.
All of this is contingent upon the city signing the deal and FIFA agreeing to transfer the responsibilities from ManCo to the BAHC.
City’s Obligations for the FIFA World Cup
According to the agreement, the city will be responsible for “World Cup Support Services,” similar to what is “typically involved” for any non-NFL event at the stadium. Santa Clara will also be responsible for “additional security services/standards” required by federal, state and regional agencies as well as FIFA.
The city will create a “Public Safety Plan” with input from stakeholders. It will include, among other things, an incident command systems framework, risk assessment, and plans for emergency communications, crowd management and evacuation.
The Santa Clara Police Department will have final approval of the Public Safety Plan and be responsible for implementing it.
The city must maintain standard event insurance. The BAHC will pay for any specialty insurance.
Breaking Down the Costs
Hosting the FIFA World Cup comes with a hefty price tag. The document estimates it will cost $45 million to $50 million. This includes event costs, public safety costs and capital improvement obligations.
About $11.4 million of that money is considered costs to the City of Santa Clara. Both sides understand the amount might change and have agreed to update expected expenses “at least” every two months.
In the contract, the BAHC promises to reimburse the city for all “actual and reasonable” “qualified event expenses” even if the cost is above the final estimate. They are broken down into three categories: planning and training, equipment costs and event costs.
Planning and training encompass things leading up to the event. It currently stands at about $2.4 million.
$475,000 is allotted for equipment costs, including a mobile incident command vehicle, crowd control and riot equipment, surveillance trailers, light towers and temporary RV parking.
The BAHC prefers that the city lease equipment. If the city needs to buy something, it can lease it to the BAHC at market rates or give the BAHC the proceeds from the sale/salvage of the equipment.
Event costs are the biggest price tag at more than $8.5 million. This will include things like public safety costs and city staff time.
Both sides will work together to find public and private sources of income to help offset costs. This includes state and federal funding. If funding is not ultimately received, the BAHC has promised to reimburse the city.
Repayment Structure and Repayment Disputes
Payments are not automatically approved. The BAHC might ask for additional information or “reasonably dispute” requested reimbursements.
Disputed amounts will be discussed. If the amount is more than $50,000, the money will be put in an escrow account. If it is more than $200,000, either party can ask for binding mediation.
To ensure the payment of “actual event expenses” incurred during the “primary event operations period” (June 7, 2026 to July 4, 2026), the BAHC will make advanced payments. 50% of the estimated actual event expenses (approximately $4.2 million) will be paid on May 1, 2026.
Another 25% (approximately $2.2 million) will be paid on June 22, 2026.
The city must submit invoices before Aug. 21, 2026 and final payment requests before Sept. 18, 2026. The BAHC will pay undisputed amounts within 60 days of the final invoice.
Any “delinquent” money owed to the city outside of the disputed amounts are subject to 15% interest per year (1.25% per month). Disputed amounts accrue interest at 3% per year (0.25% per month) from the original due date.
Levi’s Stadium Improvements
As part of the deal, the BAHC will foot the bill for stadium improvements required by FIFA. This includes modifying the seating corners so seats can be removed and replaced to enlarge the playing surface and enhancing the venting and draining systems beneath the turf.
ManCo will oversee the field improvements. The city will do its best to expedite the permitting process.
Can Santa Clara Make Money from Hosting the FIFA World Cup?
Preventing costs is just the first step for the city. It would also like to make money. In the contracts, there are two avenues for that to happen.
The first is through the ticket surcharge. The Stadium Authority will receive $4 to $6 for every ticket sold. ManCo has promised to push for $6. If it cannot get that, the BAHC will “develop a financial mechanism to assure that Stadium Authority will receive revenues that result in it receiving the equivalent of a $6 surcharge.”
As with any non-NFL event, the money will be dispersed as discussed in the stadium lease, with 50% going into the Stadium Authority General Revenue account and 50% into the discretionary fund. The lease is set up so that as much as 25% of the money could arrive in the city’s general fund.
The city will also make money through normal tax avenues, including sales tax and transient occupancy tax.
What Will BAHC Make from Hosting the FIFA World Cup?
Because the BAHC is taking on the expenses, it is also entitled to the “Basic Services” payments from FIFA. It’s expected to receive approximately $13.5 million – $1.5 million for each of the six games scheduled for Levi’s Stadium and $150,000 for each non-match day. There are expected to be 30 non-match days, but it could be higher or lower depending on FIFA’s needs.
The BAHC will also receive revenues from the resale of allocated hospitality packages. These are packages under contract with FIFA. The total potential income from these sales is not listed in the contracts.
Other Agreements in the Deal
- The BAHC reserve the Santa Clara Convention Center by April 1, 2025 and will pay the going rental rate.
- Access to the Youth Sports Park will remain. If it is limited, everyone will work to find alternative fields at equivalent rates or provide some other form of support. The city must approve any plans to use the Youth Sports Park.
- The Stadium Authority must buy tickets to each World Cup match as outlined in the stadium naming rights agreement. The estimated cost is not to exceed $1.625 million.
- ManCo will do the accounting and charge the BAHC. The Stadium Authority will not pay for this work.
- No ManCo or StadCo official will participate on behalf of or in connection to BAHC in negotiations with the Stadium Authority. This will not apply to fundraising efforts.
- Santa Clara will not waive any local laws, taxes or fees in connection with the World Cup events.
- The BAHC is developing a community benefits program.
- ManCo will develop an enhanced marketing plan for 2026-27 to address any revenue lost from non-ticketed or ticketed events.
- StadCo will purchase tickets from FIFA for its suite holders.
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“To ensure the payment of actual event expenses incurred during the primary event operations period (June 7, 2026 to July 4, 2026), the BAHC will make advanced payments. 50% of the estimated actual event expenses (approximately $4.2 million) will be paid on May 1, 2026. Another 25% (approximately $2.2 million) will be paid on June 22, 2026. The city must submit invoices before Aug. 21, 2026, and final payment requests before Sept. 18, 2026. The BAHC will pay undisputed amounts within 60 days of the final invoice.”
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This is another great milestone in the process, and the success of sound financial planning should be conveyed to every adult resident of Santa Clara to promote the event and reassure taxpayers of the economic benefit. The previous FIFA World Cup was held in Qatar, and the Associated Press reported that FIFA’s cash reserves increased to $3.97B in 2022 from $1.6B the year before. The 2026 North American FIFA World Cup is expected to add billions more to the organization’s coffers.
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Historically, the FIFA World Cup has been profitable in economically developed countries. In 2002 Japan and South Korea realized a $4.3B profit between the two countries, equivalent to $7.3B in 2024 USD. Germany spent $6B in 2006, saw $14.1B economic impact for a $8.1B profit which is about $12B in 2024 dollars. Russia spent a staggering amount, compared to their GDP, to host the event in 2018 but the Kremlin claims the USD 13B was money well spent to uplift their global image and let the world know they’re open for tourism and business. Qatar takes the cake having spent an astronomical $220B in 2022. Like Russia, Qatar took the opportunity to build substantial national infrastructure and promote the country as more than just a petroleum producer.
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The 16 North American host cities spread throughout the U.S. (11), Mexico (3), and Canada (2) don’t need to spend money building new infrastructure and they are leveraging world-class stadiums already in use by professional sports teams. Hotels, restaurants, retail, tourism sites, and employees will all benefit. Let’s not forget about the visibility boost for Major League Soccer, the National Women’s Soccer League, and youth sports in our backyard. According to iSport360, youth soccer is the #1 team sport in the U.S. with 3,000,000 registered players nationwide so the excitement of FIFA will likely be something families look forward to.
• https://isport360.com/top-youth-sports-in-the-united-states/
• https://www.sjearthquakes.com/
• https://bayfc.com/
• https://www.santaclarayouthsoccer.com/