With the All-Star Game over, Arlington now looks ahead to World Cup

ARLINGTON (1080 KRLD)- Fans from around the world have spent days in Arlington for the Major League All-Star Game. The Texas Rangers hosted the game Tuesday night for the first time since 1995.

"I really enjoyed it, bringing it back to Texas. It's been 29 years since it was here last," a Rangers fan said.

"It's a really awesome stadium, really nice city," one fan from Cincinnati said. "It's hot, but the stadium, the people here are really nice. It's awesome."

In addition to the All-Star Game, over the past 18 months, Arlington has hosted three nights of Taylor Swift concerts at AT&T Stadium, the World Series and victory parade, PBR World Finals and Kid Rock's Rock n Rodeo.

In 2026, the city will host nine World Cup matches, the most of any location in North America. Arlington Police say large events like the All-Star Game can help them "fine-tune" their plan for the World Cup.

Arlington Police say they have met with FIFA several times. They also sent several officers to Seattle to observe how that city prepared for the 2023 All-Star Game.

"We had an opportunity to go out there with our partners in the Fire Department, Major League Baseball, the Texas Rangers as well as Public Works just to make sure we were looking at this appropriately," says Deputy Chief Leo Daniels.

Daniels says Arlington has a traffic management system to watch trends and help visitors get to and from large events.

"Every time we have a major event here, we want everyone to have a fantastic time in the Entertainment District as well as leave safely," he says.

Daniels says the traffic management system can also help people who live nearby and still need to get home or to work.

Arlington Police say they will share data with FIFA from the All-Star Game and other large events and continue meetings to develop a plan for the World Cup.

The Major League Baseball Draft took place in the Fort Worth Stockyards, and Texas Rangers Youth Academy events were held in West Dallas, but the team says 95% of events around the All-Star Game were in Arlington.

All-Star Village covered 650,000 square feet between Choctaw Stadium and ESports Stadium.

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