FIFA Fan Festival visitors watch Mexico defeat South Africa in the first game of the World Cup in Fair Park in Dallas, Thursday, June 11, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Outside the FIFA Fan Fest at Fair Park, 70-year-old Ronnie Holmes waved his orange flag. He sat in a folding chair, his back facing the traffic at the corner of Dallas Street.
Holmes was hoping to cash in on the opportunity brought to South Dallas with the 34-day free event, which drew crowds of visitors on opening day Thursday, some sporting green Mexico jerseys, along with plenty of other fans and media from across the globe.
“Every time I get a car, I say, ‘Thank you, Lord, ’ ” he said. With his lot less than a third full as the Mexico vs. South Africa match kicked off, there was no way for him to gauge how much he’d make for the rare World Cup celebrations. At $20 a car, if he filled up his lot, he’d make near $800.
With North Texas hosting World Cup matches and the party at Fair Park, the tournament could offer an economic boost for South Dallas, which already sees the fairgrounds fully activated annually for the weekslong State Fair of Texas. The impact on traffic and attractions in and around Fair Park is yet to be seen.
Holmes said he’s been offering parking outside the grounds since the ‘60s and now runs a parking business on several lots. He was feeling a bit dismayed as the festivities kicked off, hoping for more parkers, and worried about murky lodging numbers pointing to a smaller economic splash than he hoped.
Ronnie Holmes, 70, waves a flag to direct FIFA Fan Festival traffic to one of his parking lots near Fair Park in Dallas, Thursday, June 11, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Holmes has taken note of improvements city staff have brought to the fairgrounds, hoping this year’s World Cup turnout does more for the community than in 1994. He’s watched over the years as several institutions moved out of the fairgrounds.
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Fair Park, he said, could be majorly improved. Holmes is hoping the attention it gets from FIFA festivities prompts local and state leaders to invest more heavily in making the grounds a year-round attraction with top-notch entertainment.
“I hope that they can bring something greater,” he said.
Inside the fairgrounds, the Texas Discovery Gardens had seen a few more people sticking around, or at least passing by. Ron Natinsky, the executive director, said it seemed busier and Fan Festival attendees, dressed up for their teams, were at the fairgrounds that morning waiting for the celebrations, which opened at 1 p.m.
“We’re hopeful they don’t just rush to their cars, or the DART train or whatever, and leave,” Natinsky said.
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He’s already seen some international visitors, but he’s hoping others will take advantage of a promotion, bask in the facility’s air conditioning and explore the gardens. The tradeoff, however, is that people visiting Fair Park for the gardens — and not FIFA — may have trouble navigating barricades and event parking.
FIFA Fan Festival visitors explore the Texas Discovery Gardens in Fair Park in Dallas, Thursday, June 11, 2026. An axolotl swims around an aquarium in the center.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
“The question will be, at some point, did we come out a touch better than normal?” he said. “And if we did, that’s good. I just hope it doesn’t impact us negatively.”
Related: What to expect at the FIFA Fan Fest in Fair Park
Inside Fan Fest, two teachers were taking in the atmosphere. Laketha Allen and Carrie Hayes, from northern Dallas-Fort Worth, went down to Fair Park to take advantage of the free event. Riding DART from a station in Plano, and walking through the fairgrounds to the festival, they took note of the pedal boats in the park’s lagoon and other spots they could explore later on.
Allen, who jokingly called herself a bandwagon fan, was rooting for Mexico because of all the jerseys she saw. Hayes rooted for South Africa.
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“Why not experience something in my own backyard?” Hayes said. “I know soccer is very popular, and so I just figured it would be a great opportunity to come spend one of our summer days here, especially since they’ll be here for almost a month.”
This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Lisa and Charles Siegel, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.