Boston’s World Cup quagmire is resolved, and Gillette Stadium will host World Cup games this summer.
The town of Foxborough, Boston’s World Cup host committee, and Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s sports company announced a deal Wednesday night to pay the town upfront for its security costs, with Kraft footing the bill.
Local leaders had held firm that they would not approve the crucial entertainment license for FIFA to stage matches at Gillette Stadium without an assurance that Foxborough won’t have to cover the $7.8 million it needs for security costs.
The roughly 19,000-person town took the view that it did not sign the deal to bring seven World Cup matches to Foxborough this summer, so it shouldn’t have to foot the bill.
The town set a deadline of March 17 to make a funding plan or it would deny FIFA the license to hold games at Gillette. Negotiations remained tense last week as the sides followed a heated meeting on Tuesday with dueling statements to the press on Thursday and Friday.
Now Foxborough, host committee Boston 26, and Kraft Sports and Entertainment say in a joint statement they “have reached an understanding collectively” that will allow the town and host committee “to finalize the details needed” for Foxborough leaders to vote to give FIFA the license at their meeting on March 17.
The statement said the town will not take on any costs related to the World Cup, and the host committee—backed by KSE—will pay upfront for all the staffing and security equipment that Foxborough’s police and fire chiefs require.
Boston 26 leaders had said in a letter to the town on March 5 that it has $2 million in the bank but anticipated $30 million to come from government funding and “commercial activities,” meaning Kraft is funding most if not all of Foxborough’s $7.8 million shortfall.
How Foxborough’s Funding Mess Unfolded
The timing of the funding had been a sticking point for Foxborough leaders. They rejected promises by Boston 26 to reimburse the town within two days of submitting an invoice, and accused the host committee of trying to “nickel and dime” their police and fire chiefs. “These guys need it now,” Select Board member Mark Elfman told attorneys for the host committee at a meeting on March 3.
Two days later, KSE released letters and a statement showing it had committed to Boston 26 that the group would cover some security costs. The town said it was “shocked and dismayed” to read statements that an agreement had been reached, to which KSE said it never claimed that.
Now the town and KSE—as well as Kraft himself—are on friendly terms again.
“I want to personally thank KSE and Robert Kraft for his involvement in bringing the funding concerns to a resolution,” Foxborough Select Board chair Bill Yukna said in a statement. “We expect that any open issues in the license will be resolved before the 17th public hearing and we look forward to a very successful and safe World Cup event.”
Boston organizers are still waiting for crucial federal security funding that has been blocked by the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
World Cup Hosts are waiting for $625 million President Donald Trump earmarked for the tournament in his Big Beautiful Bill Act last summer, plus another $250 million set aside for policing drones at the tournament and America250 events. The funds were not distributed by DHS’s intended deadline of Jan. 30, and the department said it cannot process the grants until the shutdown ends.
