MLB All-Star Game brings millions to North Texas. What's next?

The arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates 35,000 people visited from out-of-state during MLB All-Star Weekend.

ARLINGTON, Texas — As many as 35,000 people from out-of-state visited Arlington for the MLB All-Star Game, the city's Convention and Visitors' Bureau estimates.

The Midsummer Classic generated $86 million in overall spending, bureau president Brent DeRaad said.

 "As much as anything, though, being able to have Arlington be the spotlight on national television for the past 4 days has just been a remarkable opportunity for us," DeRaad said. 

All-Star weekend is the latest in a series of major sporting events that have drawn tourists and their money to North Texas.

The regional economy regularly benefits from its professional sports teams, but 2023-2024 brought a spate of unexpected successes and rare opportunities.

"We've been very fortunate in some ways," DeRaad said. "There's no question about that."

In their run to the World Series title, the Texas Rangers hosted six playoff games at Globe Life Field. As many as 700,000 attended the victory parade in Arlington. The dallas Mavericks appeared in the NBA Finals, and the Dallas Stars played in the NHL's Western Conference Finals.

In April, thousands attended the NCAA women's gymnastics championship at Dickie's Arena in Fort Worth.  At the same venue one month later, Simone Biles dominated the U.S. Gymnastics Championships.

In addition to regularly scheduled college football games and Dallas Cowboys games, AT&T Stadium has hosted a handful of international soccer matches this year.

This week, Dallas is hosting SEC Media Days for the first time.

"We're able to put on the biggest and best sporting events in the world," DeRaad said. "It's really important to use that we keep up that reputation."

As crews tear down MLB All-Star Village, a sort of fair spanning Arlington's entertainment district, city officials are preparing for the next major event: the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

AT&T Stadium will host nine matches, more than any other venue in the world. It will be the biggest sporting event in the region's storied history.

"While it's still two years away, the planning and preparation is well underway," DeRaad said. "There's a lot of work to do."

Regional leaders are particularly focused on transportation. Arlington does not have a mass transit system, so shuttling hundreds of thousands of soccer fans to the entertainment district will require logistical brilliance.

DeRaad said he's also focused on ensuring the visitors who gather outside the stadium for the games are taken care of, in addition to the matches' attendees.

Organizers say they'll use lessons learned during the World Series, All-Star Weekend, NBA Finals, and other major events to craft the World Cup game plan.

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