When the 2026 FIFA World Cup announced that AT&T Stadium would temporarily change its name to
Dallas Stadium,
the city of Arlington responded with a collective grumble.
AT&T Stadium is not in Dallas, of course. It’s in
Arlington
, smack-dab in the middle between Dallas and Fort Worth.
The grumbling just might be helping. At a news conference Wednesday in Frisco, the
Dallas Sports Commission
said it is in talks with FIFA about tweaking the name.
“We do have an inquiry in to FIFA about the possibility of revising the name to Dallas-Arlington Stadium or Arlington-Dallas Stadium,” said Monica Paul, the commission’s executive director, who is working closely with FIFA. “We’ll look to readdress it and engage in conversations later this summer.”
The stadium must change its name to comply with FIFA regulations that prohibit corporate sponsors from representing host venues. It’s not just AT&T Stadium. New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, which will host the tournament’s final game, will be renamed New York New Jersey Stadium. Boston Stadium is actually in Foxborough, Mass., and Los Angeles Stadium is in Inglewood, but both suburbs are far smaller than Arlington.
Arlington — which has a population of some 400,000 — has long felt eclipsed by the larger Dallas, with a population of 1.3 million and international name recognition.
“We’re nobody’s damn suburb,” former
Arlington Mayor Richard Greene was known to gripe
during his tenure.
Taxpayers in Arlington have said they would simply like some credit. They did
foot the bill to build AT&T Stadium
, which will host nine World Cup games, more than any other site. The city’s residents now deal with the congestion from the entertainment district, also home to the Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Field and the National Medal of Honor Museum.
This is not the first time such complaints have surfaced. Residents complained in 2022 when FIFA announced
Dallas, not Arlington, as one of 16 World Cup host cities
. The bid to host World Cup matches, organized by North Texas civic and business leaders, was presented as Dallas 2026.
Arlington
Mayor Jim Ross
told
The Dallas Morning News
on Wednesday that Arlington should be recognized, but he’s more than happy to share the name with Dallas.
“No other city has stepped up and paid for this stadium like the citizens of Arlington have,” Ross said. “It’s only right that everyone know exactly where this stadium is located.”
Regardless of the stadium’s name, both Ross and Paul say all of North Texas will benefit enormously from the World Cup, expected to bring in some $2 billion to the region.
“This is good for all of North Texas,” Ross said. “Not one city here — Dallas, Fort Worth or Arlington — could have done this all on its own.”
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