BY CYRUS STORLIE
Dispersion of efforts and economic impact across the five boroughs was the main point of contention at a Sept. 30 joint committee City Council hearing on the impacts of the 2026 World Cup on New York City
Members of both the Committee on Economic Development and the Committee on Small Business took turns asking representatives from the Mayor’s Office for specifics on how the economic impact of the event affected small businesses across all five boroughs. The post-mortem came just a day after Tourism Economics, a tourism economic analysis company, published its report on the World Cup’s economic impact on the city.
World Cup Czar, Maya Handa, and the other members from the administration were quick to highlight the estimated $2 billion in economic impact on NYC, as well as 12,000 jobs supported by World Cup activity, according to the study.
While the committee members were complimentary of the findings in the report, many had questions regarding what specific efforts were done to disperse the impact across New York, while stressing the importance of a more equitable approach.
“When you’re promoting New York City to travelers, promote our neighborhoods,” said Shanel Thomas-Henry, North Queens representative and Chair of the Council Committee on Small Business. “They’re there, they’re bustling, they’re thriving and we need that economic activity to sustain our small businesses.’
In their testimony, the administration made it clear they did prioritize this dispersion. Nancy Mammana, Chief Marketing Officer for New York City Tourism and Conventions, highlighted a targeted online ad campaign that encouraged visitors to spend time in all five boroughs. According to her testimony, the campaign made over 150,000 impressions, of which 44% went to Brooklyn, 40% went to Queens, 24% to the Bronx and 13% to Staten Island.
Mammana also mentioned a coordinated effort to promote boroughs other than Manhattan in TV broadcasts through Telemundo and NBC, which aired the event.
“These results demonstrate that our World Cup marketing investment helped broaden the event’s economic footprint and brought measurable visitor activity into communities across the city,” said Mammana.
Council Member Thomas-Henry, among others, questioned whether these efforts resulted in large enough economic impact in these areas. Thomas-Henry highlighted a section of the Tourism Economics study which measured the increase in incremental visitor spending, essentially the amount visitors to the city were spending during the World Cup compared with average visitor spending. The report found a 19% increase in Brooklyn and a 6% increase in Queens.
Council Member Frank Morano, a Republican representing Staten Island, brought attention to the “five borough winner special” a city organized small business promotion, getting restaurants and food vendors to sell a $26 food and beverage special which came with a commemorative cup distinct to the borough the business is in. This initiative was originally touted by the administration as a success, with almost 1000 small businesses participating. But Morano voiced frustration with the dispersion of participating businesses: of the 1000, only 33 were in the Bronx and only 22 in Staten Island.
The program was voluntary and the administration was adamant that it cast a wide net in trying to get businesses to participate.
“We prioritized outreach in black and brown communities and immigrant communities,” said Haris Khan, Chief of Staff for NYC Department of Small Business Services. “We were in Jackson Heights, in Port Richmond and Harlem. We went to Jamaica, Elmhurst, we went to so many different communities in outer boroughs.”
In the eyes of the joint committee, the administration did enjoy some wins. According to data from Meltwater, a social media data analysis company, online rhetoric about New York city was generally improved while the World Cup was taking place.
The Where the World Comes to Play marketing campaign is estimated to have made roughly 30 billion impressions, according to Mammana. Perhaps the biggest win for the mayoral administration was the five free official World Cup fan zones which brought 600,000 people to celebrate the event across all five of the boroughs. In preliminary planning, the fan zones were supposed to be in New Jersey, closer to the games. One of the first actions taken by the administration was to bring the fan zones to New York and place one in each borough.
“I am the first person to be critical of the administration, when warranted, “Morano said. “The administration deserves a great deal of credit here. New York City didn’t host a single World Cup Match, yet, according to preliminary analysis captured today, the city captured $2 billion in economic impact. That’s pretty significant, so congratulations to all of you for that.”