FIFA 2026 World Cup plan to cash in on high-end sports tourism

For consumers who are continuing to spend on high-end experiences, whether that’s traveling to Europe to see Taylor Swift or splurging on premium airfare, what promises to be the biggest sporting event to ever take place in North America will provide plenty of options.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be jointly held by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, will have the largest hospitality program in the history of sports, according to On Location CCO Scott Jernigan, which will range from stadium suites and hospitality villages to exclusive food and entertainment experiences.

FIFA selected On Location to be the exclusive hospitality provider for the event, which will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026. It will be the largest World Cup ever held, hosted across 16 cities in the three countries and featuring 104 matches from 48 teams.

“In the United States there’s a big demand for unique experiences and curated moments — sports tourism is booming,” Jernigan said.

On Location has been a big part of that push into higher-end experiences around sporting events. Launched in 2015 by the NFL to sell hospitality packages for the Super Bowl, it was acquired by global sports and entertainment company Endeavor in 2020 in a $660 million deal. The company now sells hospitality and ticket packages to NCAA, UFC, MLB and PGA of America events, among others.

In 2021, On Location landed its biggest deal yet: a $1.3 billion deal with the IOC for the exclusive rights to manage the hospitality and experience packages for the next three Olympic Games, which includes Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.

Jernigan, who is in Paris for the Games, said some of what On Location is seeing there will mirror what happens with the World Cup, as people from 120 different countries have bought different hospitality packages.

Roughly seven million tickets are expected to be available for the 2026 World Cup, and approximately one million premium tickets will be sold as part of hospitality packages. While what those offerings will include and the exact pricing are yet to be determined, Jernigan said the company is looking to “curate the experiences through the local markets” with unique food and entertainment options to match that.

On Location also tapped Major League Soccer to help with the promotion and sale of these packages, looking to lean into the league’s soccer expertise, according to Jay Berhalter, MLS executive vice president of business development.

Berhalter noted that MLS not only has clubs in each of the 11 U.S. markets and two Canadian markets being used during the World Cup, but also five of its clubs play in the same stadium, providing the league and On Location insight into the kinds of high-end experiences that soccer fans are looking for.  

“The soccer fan is like other fans you’re seeing across the entertainment space, which is that they want…