Frustrated Foxborough Select Board members kept asking the same question Tuesday night: Who’s going to cover the town’s $7.8 million bill to provide security at the World Cup matches held in Gillette Stadium?
Neither a representative of soccer governing body FIFA nor the head of local organizing committee Boston 2026 had an answer, or one that board members wanted to hear.
Gillette, in Foxborough, will host seven World Cup matches this summer. The Kraft Group, which owns the stadium, normally picks up the tab for police details and other security measures required for Patriots games and concerts at the venue.
But the World Cup is not covered by that standing agreement, and town leaders have refused to issue permits for the games until someone promises to cover those costs.
Select board chair Bill Yukna said the seven matches to be played at Gillette stadium are the equivalent of hosting seven Super Bowls.
“We have to secure that facility for 39 days straight, I think there’s a lot of manpower involved there,” he said. “So all we’re asking for is a collaboration that gets us the answer as to who.”
FIFA World Cup 2026 Director of Venue Operations Kevin Clark said the international soccer governing body isn’t on the hook for the security funding.
“With respect to the financial agreement, we have to defer to both the stadium and the host city, we are not in a position to comment on the financial requirements,” he said.
Boston 2026 President Mike Loynd greed that the nonprofit is “contractually obligated” to provide for public safety at the games, but offered no assurances to the board.
“ I guess there’s an ultimate question, which I think should probably, you know, lie in the conditions of the license,” he said. “ How that’s worded, I think, which is, you know, I’m just offering that I think that, you know, that should be run down,” Loynd said.
Board member Mark Elfman said he was “shocked, especially after talking to you two guys two weeks ago where you assured us that we’re all set and now you’re saying you’re not responsible for it, pointing fingers back and forth.”
Several members said they would not issue the required entertainment license without assurances that the town would be reimbursed.
Board member Stephanie McGowan said the town cannot absorb the costs, which she said amounts to “almost 10% of our whole entire budget for our year.”
“There is no way we can fund it or issue a license without knowing” where the money will come from, she said.
The board has set a March 17 deadline for issuing the license.
Yukna said the town has been planning for three years to host the matches, and they cannot proceed without securing funds.
“We’ve got four weeks as far as we’re concerned, without those answers and without us ordering some, you know, needed materials very soon, um, it will be impossible for us to implement those plans that we’ve developed.”
This story was originally published by WBUR. It was shared as part of the New England News Collaborative.
