That decision still hangs over the Windy City. The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board lamented Thursday that Chicago had effectively ceded its moment in the spotlight to smaller U.S. host cities. With the tournament already captivating much of the country, the contrast with Boston has only grown sharper.
Boston struggled through fundraising challenges and bureaucratic disputes ahead of the World Cup, but the opening week has brought outsized attention and energy. Tourism officials estimate that up to 50,000 Scots, roughly 1% of Scotland's population have traveled to the region. Scotland is one of 10 teams scheduled to play its first two group stage matches at the same stadium. While players and coaches returned to their base camp in Charlotte between matches, the back to back games in the Boston area allowed many fans to remain in the region for more than a week.
Their presence has enlivened a recently quiet Fenway Park and reportedly left some local bars entirely out of beer. Noelle Somers, COO at Hennessy's Bar in downtown Boston, said alcohol consumption by Scottish soccer fans during the opening weekend exceeded anything the venue had seen in more than three decades.
We've been here for over 30 years, and we've never seen anything like it. We tripled St. Patrick's Day.
Meet Boston CEO Martha Sheridan said the scale of the celebration quickly surpassed expectations as kilts, bagpipes, singing, and packed bars filled downtown with what she described as complete joy.
When we saw our first kilt, we were like, 'Oh, this is great. The Scots are here.' Then, as we started to see more and more -- bagpipes and singing and bars filling up and just complete and total joy -- we were like, 'This is not anything close to what we were envisioning.'
Hotel occupancy in Boston has not matched the lofty projections developed over the past few years, as in most host cities. Still, Sheridan said occupancy rose above last June's already strong rate of 85%, with a significant bump in room rates as well.
The city did have a bump in occupancy over last year and a significant bump in rate, so I think our revenue per available room is going to be very solid for the month of June.
Many Scottish supporters have also opted for creative housing selections, including Airbnb and other rental options, because of the length of their stays before returning home or moving on to Miami.
