At the beginning of May, the Arlington Museum of Art opened its doors to soccer fans with an immersive exhibit showcasing the artistry of “the beautiful game.”
Museum and city leaders dubbed the “More Than a Match” show a popular stop during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, even extending its display through Aug. 30. It was located less than a mile from AT&T Stadium, which hosted nine matches over the span of a month this summer.
Now, the museum’s top executive is clarifying that although the exhibit garnered attention from international travelers, it didn’t sell as many tickets as expected.
Sales are down 90% from last summer, which saw roughly 10,000 tickets sold, museum president and CEO Chris Hightower said.
Museum staff spent time outside the stadium during matches passing out promotional materials for the exhibit, he said, but witnessed crowds of fans shuttling back to Fort Worth and Dallas after each game instead of exploring the Entertainment District.
Better coordination between the museum and city leaders was needed to expose the exhibit to soccer enthusiasts and World Cup attendees, Hightower said.
“There’s no blame here, I definitely think it was just a lost opportunity,” he said.
Brent DeRaad, president and CEO of the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau, was disappointed to learn about the low ticket sales and acknowledged the museum’s observation that some tourists shuttled back to other North Texas cities after games.
Still, DeRaad said the city promoted the exhibit across social media platforms on 10 different days between April 30 and July 23.
The bureau featured “More Than a Match” on its FIFA World Cup landing page, in paid Meta advertising, email marketing, news releases, and Instagram and Facebook posts, he said.
“Our job was to get as many people into Arlington as we possibly could and we feel good about those efforts, but not every business benefited equally,” he said. “We did everything we could on our side to try to generate interest and awareness to the exhibit.”
“More Than a Match” features World Cup memorabilia, legendary players’ jerseys, scarves, and contemporary art on loan from the National Football Museum in England and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco. The Arlington museum scored the items in 2023 and built the broader exhibition around it.
The museum bet big that the soccer show would offer a unique opportunity for local and international visitors instead of pursuing a proposed exhibition centered on French artist Edgar Degas. In hindsight, it was the wrong decision, Hightower said.
“All in all, there was some learning that we gained from it,” Hightower said. “I think that hosting an exhibit that’s similar to the (World Cup) experience they’re coming to see was not the thing. I wish we’d just stuck with art.”
The Arlington Museum of Art previously curated art shows around legendary printmakers like Mexico’s José Guadalupe Posada and costumes from Game of Thrones. Last summer, Dutch artist M.C. Escher’s mind-bending works were on display.
Mexico City, which hosted five World Cup matches this summer, also focused on the art of soccer with two exhibitions at Museo Jumex: “Objects of Glory: Iconic Moments in the History of Football” and “Football & Art. A Shared Emotion.” A museum spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment asking how many visitors the shows drew in.
The Arlington Museum of Art is among the local businesses experiencing the uneven benefits of the World Cup in the American Dream City. Some shops in the downtown Urban Union district reported low traffic as residents avoided the area, while major sports bars reported 25%-30% increase in sales on match days.
Arlington hotels garnered $31.5 million in room revenue in June 2026 compared to the previous monthly record of $23.6 million in November 2024, according to the convention and visitors bureau.
The bureau estimates each of the first six World Cup matches generated between $18 million and $24 million in economic impact within Arlington.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
The Report’s arts and culture coverage is supported in part by the Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation and the Virginia Hobbs Charitable Trust. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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