‘Once in a lifetime’: Foxborough businesses and police gear up for World Cup influx
· Yahoo Sports
As the Brazil and France national soccer teams face off in a friendly match at Gillette Stadium Thursday, the game will act as a trial run for the town of Foxborough as they prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in June.
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Local businesses like Union Straw are also using the Thursday match as a test run. Director of Operations, Craig Carreira, called it a “one in a lifetime opportunity.”
“You have to be able to capitalize on opportunities, so we’re going to be as prepared as we possibly can be,” Carreira said. “We believe we’re going to see a massive influx of people in town for the World Cup, so we’re slowly starting to ramp up our staffing and get ready for what’s to come.”
For Foxborough Police Chief Michael Grace, World Cup preparations have been in the works for more than a year and a half.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel today. What we’re doing is we’re just running our processes and then adding to based on some of the changes we’re going to see, and today we’re going to see changes potentially,” Chief Grace said.
The chief advises folks trying to get to the stadium to stay on the major thoroughfares and not try to take any backroads.
“Don’t go onto the side streets. You will not get there any faster; none of the side streets have access into Gillette. They all dump into one or two roads, and you’ll just get stuck,” Chief Grace said.
The chief says Foxborough residents are seasoned and well acquainted with the type of traffic the area sees.
Charles Dipompo, who has lived in the area for more than two decades, agrees, saying he’s excited for the international crowd the World Cup will bring to Foxborough.
“I think it’s going to be an amazing event, and I’m glad that part of it is here in Massachusetts, in Boston, in Foxborough. I think what’s really good about it is a lot of people in the United States get exposed to different cultures and how they feel and how they think. I think that’s good for us,” Dipompo said.
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