Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News. Dan Hunt, thanks so
Speaker 1: much for being with us. We appreciate having you.
Speaker 2: Great to see you and great to be here.
Speaker 1: Big News Dallas gets the international broadcast Center for World
Speaker 1: Cup in twenty twenty six in downtown Dallas. Okay, Bailey
Speaker 1: Hutchinson Convention Center. Okay, So what exactly does that mean?
Speaker 2: Really, it's the storytelling of the entire World Cup. This
Speaker 2: is the centralized broadcast center. In the twenty twenty two
Speaker 2: World Cup and guitar there were one hundred and eighty
Speaker 2: seven countries that broadcast live from that studio there in Doha,
Speaker 2: and so we have what will be the broadcast center
Speaker 2: for the twenty twenty six World Cup, and I expect
Speaker 2: it to be more than one hundred and eighty seven countries.
Speaker 2: And they're saying as many as five thousand media people
Speaker 2: will be working at the center and broadcasting daily and.
Speaker 1: So financially, I mean it's a boom. I mean, let's
Speaker 1: talk about that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, you have five thousand people saying here,
Speaker 2: this is truly the kickoff to the World Cup. Though
Speaker 2: you have so many people that will show up in
Speaker 2: January or February to start setting up for broadcasts, because
Speaker 2: this is the storytelling that that goes back to the
Speaker 2: countries for each match, and there are one hundred and
Speaker 2: four matches. They the low estimates I've seen are two
Speaker 2: hundred million dollars of economic impact for the Dallas for
Speaker 2: Worth area, and I've heard his high as four hundred million.
Speaker 1: But you can.
Speaker 2: Imagine this is tens of thousands of hotel nights.
Speaker 1: And again, this is the second time Dallas has hosted this.
Speaker 1: That's got some family meaning for the Hunts.
Speaker 2: It's a big win. Back in nineteen ninety four, we
Speaker 2: had the International Broadcast Center here in Dallas. It was
Speaker 2: at Fair Park and it was something my father Lamar
Speaker 2: was so proud of. He just you know, it was
Speaker 2: such a win for the community. I didn't really understand
Speaker 2: it at the time, but as sort of the evolution
Speaker 2: has gone on and I've gotten to see these broadcast
Speaker 2: centers and now these latest generations, these are like you know,
Speaker 2: pop up cities, bringing thousands and thousands of workers.
Speaker 1: You know, obviously there was some disappointment when it came
Speaker 1: to the final, but again North Texas getting nine games,
Speaker 1: and you know, I want to talk about North Texas
Speaker 1: it's getting the nine games. It's not just the city
Speaker 1: of Dallas. I mean at and T Stadium is in Arlington.
Speaker 1: They'll be practices at your facility.
Speaker 2: Yes, I mean this whole tournament will be spread out
Speaker 2: throughout the metroplex. We've got nine games, which is like
Speaker 2: nine Super Bowls. We have the International Broadcast Center, which
Speaker 2: is you know, five thousand media personalities broadcasting globally. And
Speaker 2: then we have these base camps that are setting up
Speaker 2: hopefully in Frisco at Toyota Stadium will wind up with
Speaker 2: the base camp of a visiting national team. That are
Speaker 2: multiple ones in Dallas, even potentially ones in you know, Mansfield,
Speaker 2: maybe of Fort Worth, and so it's spread out, but
Speaker 2: also hotel rooms all across North Texas. We're in a
Speaker 2: really unique spot in Dallas because Houston has six matches,
Speaker 2: Dallas has nine, Kansas City has six. So somebody can
Speaker 2: make a regional play to see a lot of World
Speaker 2: Cup soccer by staying in North Texas.
Speaker 1: New York Times reporting today that FIFA is considering expanding
Speaker 1: the twenty thirty World Men Cups World's Men Cup to
Speaker 1: sixty four teams. Now twenty twenty six has already expanded
Speaker 1: to forty eight. What's your thinking on sixty.
Speaker 2: Yeah, look, forty eight with one hundred and four matches
Speaker 2: is unbelievable. The drama that exists around that, But that
Speaker 2: is a really heavy lift. You're talking about sixteen venues
Speaker 2: in North America. You have you know, Canada, United States, Mexico,
Speaker 2: eleven of those in the United States. But these are
Speaker 2: NFL stadiums. To go to sixty four teams, I think
Speaker 2: would be incredibly difficult. I think we need to see
Speaker 2: how forty eight works. First. You'll have first time qualifiers
Speaker 2: that have never actually qualified for a World Cup, and
Speaker 2: you'll have teams that may not have been in the
Speaker 2: tournament for thirty years. And I think this is great
Speaker 2: for the game. It's growing the game. But sixty four
Speaker 2: is a gigantic league because you truly will have a
Speaker 2: disparity between the top teams and the teams that are
Speaker 2: down near to the bottom of that.
Speaker 1: Got to ask, we haven't seen it since the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: Thoughts on next season?
Speaker 2: Yeah, look, it was difficult. I am so proud of
Speaker 2: what my brother has achieved. The Clark has done a
Speaker 2: fantastic job with the Chiefs. This is truly a dynasty
Speaker 2: and Andy Reid Brett Vich Mark Donod and that leadership
Speaker 2: team is first class. And look, I think with the
Speaker 2: salary cap gowing up, you know, twenty plus million dollars,
Speaker 2: it's allowed a lot of teams to keep their franchises intact.
Speaker 2: I think the free agent market isn't nearly as big
Speaker 2: as people expected, So I'm really optimistic the Chiefs will
Speaker 2: be back. So exciting times in Kansas City, and you know,
Speaker 2: I'm just thankful I get to be part.
Speaker 1: Of it, Dan Hutt, and thanks for being with us.
Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you.