Tuesday night's soccer match at 8:30 p.m. between Mexico and Croatia has sold out at Arlington's AT&T Stadium, and that could be good news for North Texas.
City officials are trying to score another World Cup for Dallas in 2026.
FIFA will not announce who's getting the 2026 games until June — Morocco or the United Bid Committee consisting of the United States, Mexico and Canada.
If the World Cup comes to North America, it will be another few years before FIFA whittles down its list of host cities, which includes Dallas among 25 finalists.
Organizers with the Dallas Sports Commission hope to make North Texas a key player in the event. They're already planning to use Fair Park and Cotton Bowl Stadium, Toyota Stadium and SMU for some of their training facilities. AT&T Stadium would be the main site for matches.
They're vying to host the international broadcast center as well as games, which would bring 10,000 media to cover the Cup.
Depending how many matches and events wound up here, the United Bid Committee estimates the region could see a $400 million economic impact.
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The director of the Dallas Sports Commission said FIFA would take note of Tuesday night's sellout crowd for a friendly exhibition game, as a sign of how the North Texas fanbase could turn out for a World Cup match.
"As you can see, the weather can't stop us so if the World Cup comes to the USA, this beautiful stadium needs to be part of it," said fan Jesus Najera.
Vanessa Rodriguez added, "I think people will notice that if we're able to sell a friendly match, we're able to sell the World Cup."
"It would be great," said 12-year-old Sebastian Martinez. "It would be one of my dreams come true."
Click here to read more about this story from our media partners at The Dallas Morning News.
NBC5's Alice Barr contributed to this report.
