North Texas' priciest World Cup suite still unbooked as tournament nears

You still could have the Loews presidential suite – the priciest hotel room in North Texas during the FIFA World Cup, running $15,000 to $20,000 a night – because it's not completely booked, even as Arlington's hotel demand begins to climb.

Stephen Cummings, complex managing director for Loews Hotels, said the suite has not been booked for the entire World Cup. He expects that to change. The room is typically booked for all Dallas Cowboys home games, he said.

The early pitch for the tournament was bold: hosting nine World Cup matches in Arlington would be like staging nine Super Bowls. But with 16 host cities spread across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the expected crush of travelers has been spread out.

Expectations meet regional reality

"We had heard the projections that with nine matches, that meant nine Super Bowls," said Brent DeRaad, president and CEO of the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau. "That may not, you know, certainly be the case here. It's not going to be 31 days of full hotels at astronomical rates."

DeRaad said hosting the matches and filling rooms won't be a failure. He said the World Cup, combined with Texas Rangers games from June 11 to July 19, will still bring strong business. The first competition at Dallas Stadium (AT&T Stadium) begins June 14.

"And for us, being able to stage those nine matches and 15 Texas Rangers games in 31 days, it's a great challenge for us," DeRaad said. "We're up for that challenge and very excited to be able to welcome the world to Arlington here over the next month."

Loews Arlington and Live! by Loews have nearly 1,200 rooms between them, all within walking distance of the venue.

Stadium crowds expected to surge

"We fully expect 75,000 to 80,000 people to be in this amazing stadium behind us," said Cummings.

And while most rooms are filling quickly, the ultra‑luxury presidential suite – one of the priciest stays in Texas during the tournament – remains one of the last high‑end options still on the market.