Small Town Meets the Big Stage: Mansfield's World Cup Dream
In 2008, the opening of a state-of-the-art baseball facility in Mansfield, Texas, a small Fort Worth suburb, might have raised eyebrows.
With just three hotels, limited shopping and dining and stiff competition across the tourism industry in the DFW Metroplex, the little city seemed a long way off from being considered a destination. Today, Mansfield is a contender to serve as a Team Base Camp for the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
Visit Mansfield's Director, Theresa Cohagen, expressed great honor in Mansfield's consideration as a Team Base Camp location, saying, "We can't wait to welcome the world to North Texas next summer and invite every competing team to consider Mansfield as their hometown while they compete for soccer's greatest prize."
A Team Base Camp serves as a team's "home away from home" throughout the international tournament's group stage. A national team will train and live at the base camp as they prepare for their three group stage matches. Teams will decide on their Team Base Camp location in December 2025, following the Final Draw.
Mansfield's consideration as a potential base camp reflects the city's substantial growth. Since that initial baseball facility opened in 2008, the city's population has almost doubled, large sports facilities that can host basketball, volleyball, hockey and swimming have all opened, and tourism is now a nine-figure industry with over a quarter million annual visitors.
However, this next leap into the international arena is only possible because of what will open in 2026: a full-sized professional soccer stadium.
Mansfield Stadium, scheduled to open before the World Cup, would be the Team Base Camp site. This multi-sport facility, with a capacity of approximately 7,000 fans, will host the North Texas Soccer Club of the MLS NEXT Pro league beginning in 2026. The stadium is part of the upcoming Staybolt Street Entertainment District, which will also include hotels, a conference center, a renovated Mansfield Sports Park, and a High 5 Entertainment venue.
"As a community that has grown from a small suburb to a destination community, Mansfield is the perfect home for the champion North Texas Soccer Club," said Mayor of the City of Mansfield Michael Evans. "The Staybolt Street Entertainment District Stadium will be the place where people come from all over to watch the highest level of MLS NEXT Pro soccer."
At its soul, though, Mansfield is still that small town and that's what makes it such a welcoming destination—even as it skyrockets into potential worldwide notoriety.
"It's one thing to have amazing spaces and events, but what sets Mansfield apart as a Tourism Friendly Texas destination is the genuine connection and sense of community that guests feel when they visit," Cohagen added. "Visitors come for the attractions, but they return for the people who make them feel like they belong. That's the magic of Mansfield."
Written by Tim Roberts, Tourism Manager at Visit Mansfield.
Courtesy of Visit Mansfield.
Photo courtesy of City of Mansfield.
