The seven World Cup games scheduled to be played this summer at the home of the New England Patriots remain uncertain as city leaders in Foxborough, Massachusetts, wait to find out who will cover nearly $8 million in expected security costs.
The Select Board in Foxborough will not approve the licenses needed for FIFA to occupy the stadium without a guarantee that the city will not be left with the bill. At the February 17 meeting, the board stood firm on the sticking point and no progress appears to have been made.
The license issuing window will close quickly. The city has set a March 17 deadline to approve the permits, given the preparation time needed to implement the safety plan.
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Although there are only seven matches, including a quarter-final in Foxborough, security is required by event organizer FIFA to keep Gillette Stadium safe for all 39 days of the World Cup.
The event starts on June 11 and ends on July 19. Matches are played all over the US, as well as in Canada and Mexico.
Foxborough estimates the cost at $7.8 million, and city council members said they won’t leave taxpayers in the small community with the bill. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Foxborough has a population of nearly 19,000.
Congress has approved $625 million in security and preparedness funding for the 11 host cities in the United States, but the locations have yet to see it. Part of the reason is the partial government shutdown that has impacted the Department of Homeland Security. It is the umbrella organization of the Federal Emergency Management Agency – FEMA – that will distribute the money.
The stadium is owned by The Kraft Group, founded by Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and the city owns the land beneath it. The group is going through the same process to obtain licenses for both the Patriots and the New England Revolution, Kraft’s MLS team. The Kraft Group will pay the necessary money up front, and the board expects the World Cup organizers to follow suit.
“The money needs to be here. We’re a small town,” Select Board Vice Chair Stephanie McGowan said at the recent meeting. “This is almost 10 percent of our entire annual budget. How does anyone expect us to spend the money for someone (FIFA) to come to our city for 39 days and make all these demands, and then you leave?”
“We can’t do that to our taxpayers. We wouldn’t be responsible.”
FIFA sent representatives to the February 17 meeting, but they did not give the board the guarantees it wanted.
“I have to be honest with you, it amazes me that you are sitting here in front of me and that we still have no idea where this money comes from,” said board member Mark Elfman.
