Sam Zapatka toured the U.S. to find a practice field suitable for the U.S. Men’s National Team to train for the upcoming World Cup.
Four years ago, soccer’s international body, FIFA, began talking with the City of Irvine about the Great Park, including Community Services Superintendent Steven Stewart.
“When we came to Irvine, the first thing that Steven said when we walked through the doors of the Great Park was ‘welcome home,’” Team Manager Zapatka said, referencing Stewart.
“And we knew immediately that this is where we want to be for the month of June in preparation for our three massive group-stage games and then beyond to represent not only the city of Irvine, the state of California, but obviously the United States.”
In March, FIFA and the U.S. men’s national soccer team selected Irvine’s Championship Soccer Stadium for training while the team competes from June to July.
Businesses in Orange County are lining up to take part in the World Cup, including Hyundai Motor Corp., Northgate González Markets and TOCA Football.
The U.S. team and its coaching staff will be staying at the oceanfront Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel.
Perhaps the organization most anxious to benefit from the fame of hosting the U.S. team is the OC Soccer Club, which has its home at the Irvine stadium.
“The world’s media are going to be camped out in Irvine,” Dan Rutstein, OC Soccer Club’s president of business relations, told the Business Journal.
The soccer team sold out half of its games last year, prompting recent stadium improvements, including three new stands that added 1,000 seats. The Great Park stadium, which was built in 2017, can now hold more than 6,000 people.
“We’re excited that we get to enjoy it for most of this year, but also that the U.S. national team gets to enjoy themselves in our stadium,” Rutstein said.
The U.S. Soccer team’s practices are expected to be closed to the public. However, the city is planning a free, ticketed event with FIFA on June 8 to welcome the USMNT to Irvine.
The 2026 World Cup – with 48 teams and 104 matches, making it the largest edition in history – runs from June 11 to July 19 across host countries the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The U.S. Men’s National Team’s first game will be on June 12 in Inglewood at the SoFi Stadium versus Paraguay.
This is Orange County’s second time hosting the U.S. men’s team. The men’s team practiced at Mission Viejo’s soccer complex for the 1994 World Cup, the last time it was held in the U.S.
Watching Fútbol at the Mercado
While Northgate González Markets has hosted fan events across grocery locations during the FIFA World Cups in the past, the family-owned company has something new up its sleeve for this year’s event: the 70,000-square-foot Mercado González store in Costa Mesa.
The González family jumped at the opportunity to use its newer Mercado store as a larger venue for watch parties during live matches featuring the U.S. and Mexico teams in June and July.
“We see Mercado González in Costa Mesa becoming an important cultural gathering destination where families and fans can come together to celebrate fútbol, food, and tradition,” Co-President Oscar González said in a statement to the Business Journal.
The Mercado first opened at the end of 2023 and Northgate is trying to find the right sites to build more mercados in the future. The company currently operates 46 grocery stores in California.
This year, Northgate launched a campaign called Familia Fútbol to highlight the U.S. and Mexico as co-hosts, bring more people to its stores with planned “fan fest” events and watch parties, and give back with soccer youth clinics that will invite professional scouts and a pro soccer player.
The campaign also includes players such as the renowned goalkeeper Jorge Campos and Scarlett Camberos from the Mexican women’s national team.
Mexico and South Africa will kick off the World Cup on June 11 in Mexico City, and the game will be playing at the Mercado.
“It’s one of the ways that we’re talking to our customers – giving them a place to go for the games and for the food,” a Northgate representative said.
John Wayne Gets Ready
John Wayne Airport (JWA) is “prepared for increased seasonal activity” ahead of the World Cup matches, according to Airport Director Charlene Reynolds.
“In anticipation of an increase in private and commercial arrivals during June, particularly around match days in Los Angeles and Southern California, our focus remains on maintaining safe, efficient operations in compliance with our mandated curfews and capacity limits,” Reynolds said in a statement to the Business Journal.
One of the airport’s fixed-base operators (FBOs), Clay Lacy Aviation, is not charging any special event fees for incoming private flights and charters during the tournament like the company usually does during other major occasions such as the Super Bowl or Formula 1 race weekends.
The fees are “to help offset the legitimate and significant costs associated with handling high-volume traffic within a compressed timeframe,” Chief Business Officer Doug Wilson said in a statement.
“With the 2026 World Cup spanning 16 host cities across three countries over a full month of play, the company anticipates no such logistical strain, aside from possibly the final match on July 19 outside of New York City,” Wilson added.
“The World Cup will already involve significant travel complexity for flight departments, passengers, and crews,” JWA General Manager Alex Scott told the Business Journal.
“By keeping pricing transparent and avoiding additional event related surcharges, we hope to make Clay Lacy a more attractive and dependable option for operators traveling to Orange County.”
The Fixed-Based Operator expects an increase in general aviation activity from World Cup visitors, sponsors and corporate travelers attending the games in Los Angeles. Scott also expects local aircraft owners to fly their private planes out of the Santa Ana airport to attend other matches.
With its facilities at John Wayne currently under construction as part of a sitewide renovation, Clay Lacy is focused on coordinating with clients and staff prior to June.
“We are currently operating through our redevelopment project, so our preparation is focused on advance coordination, aircraft staging, staffing, and maintaining clear communication with operators, much like we do every day,” Scott said.
Turning Global Fans into Local Fans
OC Soccer Club was one of 12 founding members of the United Soccer League (USL), the North American league of pre-professional players. It is a development league where players can be recruited by larger international teams, including the U.S.
“We’ve had so many young players break through, so we’re obviously looking to see how we can maximize that partnership,” said Dan Rutstein, OC Soccer Club’s president of operations.
He added that hosting an organization like the U.S. Men’s National Team during the World Cup will bring visibility to Orange County and its soccer team.
“Since the announcement came up, there have been pictures of our stadium. And even though it’s not owned by us, our branding is all over it,” Rutstein said.
In April, the city partnered with U.S. Soccer’s foundation Soccer Forward to train local youth coaches in Orange County as part of Irvine’s agreement to host. There are also plans for watch parties at the Championship stadium while the team is out playing.
“It just feels appropriate that they’re there, given what we’re trying to do to grow the next generation of U.S. Soccer players,” Rutstein said.
He also believes that 2026 will mark another year of growth for the OCSC, partly driven by capturing new fans during the World Cup.
“We’re excited that global soccer fans can be local soccer fans with us,” Rutstein said.
The Orange County team last played at the Great Park stadium on April 25 before passing it over to the U.S. team.
“I’m sure the luck of the Championship Soccer Stadium will help propel them far into the tournament,” Rutstein told the crowd at halftime.
The Business Angle
Orange County is not only hosting a national sports team, but the region is home to a handful of businesses that are taking advantage of the World Cup spotlight.
Hyundai Motor Corp., with its U.S. division based in Fountain Valley, has been an official partner of the FIFA World Cup for 27 years, while Mexican-born jersey maker CHARLY in Irvine is looking to further its footprint in the U.S. soccer market which started with a partnership with the United Soccer League (USL) and several of its teams.
A few companies considered the World Cup a milestone or marker for expansion plans and project timelines such as TOCA Football and Footlab.
The two soccer training concepts are preparing pre-and post-World Cup visitors at their facilities.
Footlab, a training center co-founded by soccer-star not footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, is slated to open its first U.S. location in Santa Ana by the end of summer.
“We chose Santa Ana because it’s one of the fastest growing cities in soccer sports and is strategically located,” Andres Cuenca, chief executive officer of Footlab partner Stake Investors, told the Business Journal in January.
OC General Manager Amir Mertaban agreed, stating that Southern California is one of the largest soccer markets in the country by the number of teams, clubs and leagues that train in the state. He added that the company considered Santa Ana as “the heart of OC.”
Footlab initially planned to open the $20 million flagship center in spring, but the size of the facility as well as the amount of technology being installed has required more time for finishing touches, according to Mertaban.
“This project is very unique. The technology complements and supplements the actual curriculum development that every soccer coach in the US is implementing to give them real time data on the player,” Mertaban explained. “And it’s a huge facility. It’s five acres, 165,000 square feet, indoor and outdoor.”
The building will include an esports gaming area, a café, a gym with a locker room, a merchandise store and others. It’s the first Footlab location to be both indoor and outdoor, and it’s the largest center so far.
“This is going to be our showcase,” Mertaban said. “The World Cup, obviously, gives us a massive buzz, especially after the World Cup is done.
For Costa Mesa-based TOCA, the opening of its first U.S. TOCA Social venue in Dallas in March was the result of behind-the-scenes work paying off just before the World Cup.
The newer model is a 20,000-square-foot immersive soccer-themed entertainment and dining venue, like Top Golf. After acquiring and converting 36 indoor soccer facilities into training centers, TOCA’s more entertaining concept is expected to be the next step for the brand in the U.S.
It aims to attract a wider audience: families, casual players and even corporate groups looking for a new kind of night out, according to Chief Financial Officer Liyuan Woo.
Those corporate groups have recently been driving bookings, according to Chief Executive Yoshi Maruyama.
“With the upcoming World Cup in June, we’ve just gotten an influx of interest from corporates, World Cup sponsors and other groups that are looking for ways to engage their customers, fans and their employees with what is clearly going to be a tsunami of events,” Maruyama told the Business Journal.
He sees an additional opportunity in the international youth tournaments that bring out-of-town families to markets like Dallas.
TOCA is also the official partner of Major League Soccer (MLS) and expects future TOCA venues to scale along with the league’s growth. Maruyama added that TOCA will lean on its relationships with MLS teams such as FC Dallas in future markets.
While the executive noted that there are several global, professional football events that stir up customers, he added that this year’s FIFA tournament does feel notable.
“The World Cup is relatively new to the United States. So, we are clearly feeling the momentum that’s being built around the sport more so than in other years,” he said, pointing to the recent increase of participation in the sport.
TOCA plans to continue funneling future soccer players at its training centers as well, where growth is driven by kids’ classes and an increase in youth memberships. Maruyama added that annual revenue has grown 20 to 30 times greater from when TOCA started.
“This is truly the world’s sport, and we’re excited to be the only brand that is delivering world-class experiences around the people’s sport,” he said.
