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Providence Isn’t an Official World Cup Host, but It Sure Is Acting Like One

Manju Gusain11510 mins

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Fans of Scotland’s World Cup team, thousands strong, will march on Providence, Rhode Island’s capital, next month and local officials will be applauding and cheering them every step of the way.

Providence aggressively and strategically promoted itself as an alternative to host the parade of fans, known as the Tartan Army. City officials helped broker hotel deals and open up college dormitories to house the Scottish team supporters, a fan said.

Providence is 25 miles southwest of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., which will host seven games between June 13 and July 9, including a quarterfinal game.

Downtown Boston, though, is almost 30 miles northeast of the stadium, making Providence an attractive alternative for out-of-town fans. Boston is one of 16 official host cities of the tournament, which begins on June 11, and the cities and their neighbors are hoping for a piece of a tourist boom.

Many of the approximately 10,000 Scottish team supporters will be staying in Providence-area hotels, college dormitories and Airbnbs, Rhode Island officials said.

“Our estimate is around 40 percent savings on accommodation compared to Boston rates,” Ian Cox of the Providence Tartan Army said. “The real reasons supporters are choosing Providence are simple: It is actually closer to Gillette Stadium, it is a beautiful and walkable city, and the people here have been incredibly welcoming and helpful throughout our planning.”

Scottish fans aren’t entirely turning their backs on Boston, however.

They have day trips planned, including one on June 14 at Fenway Park, where the Red Sox are having a “Scottish Celebration” night.

That’s just fine with Providence’s mayor, Brett Smiley, who called it a “privilege” to host an official World Cup fan zone, and to be the home to the Tartan Army, tens of thousands of other fans, as well as Ghana’s team.

“We knew we weren’t going to be Boston,” he said. “We’re not trying to be Boston.”

The proximity of the two cities presents fans with a choice of where to make a home base for part of the 39-day tournament.

There are two kinds of fans, international and domestic, said Victor Matheson, a professor of economics at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., and a longtime soccer fan who will be attending World Cup games in Foxborough and Kansas City, Mo., this summer.

“Tourist No. 1 is the soccer fan who is using the World Cup as an excuse to go do other cool things that they’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “That sort of tourist is obviously going to pick Boston over Providence because, from an international tourism perspective, Boston is a place to come.”

The second fan is here only for the soccer matches, said Professor Matheson, who studies the economics of large sporting events.

Describing the perspective of a die-hard soccer fan, he said: “I’m just not going to walk the Freedom Trail. I don’t care about Paul Revere. I don’t care about Old Ironsides. What I care about is soccer.”

“Those fans are looking for like-minded fans,” he added. “They’re looking for a place with cool bars, and a place that’s moderately cheap, so they can afford tickets to the event. And for those sort of fans, Providence is every bit as good as Boston is, maybe even better.”

The only direct train service to Gillette Stadium is from Boston, though, and most fans from Rhode Island will be arriving by bus.

The Tartan Army negotiated its own bus contract, and its members will arrive on game day on roughly 40 school buses, at $45 per person, less than half the established rate of $95, Mr. Cox said.

Plenty of the Scottish fans and others staying in Rhode Island are using short-term housing rentals.

“Globally, what we’ve heard is that Airbnbs are as, if not more, popular than some hotels,” because of the nature of how fans are traveling for the games, Mr. Smiley said. “Visitors seem to be coming in groups.”

Airbnb housing, he said, distributes fans throughout the city’s neighborhoods, helping other businesses, rather than having all the fans concentrated downtown.

Airbnb gave $250,000 to Ocean State 2026, the state’s official tournament organizer, to support soccer clinics, community celebrations and cultural programs. It is also giving two dozen World Cup tickets to children through a lottery.

About a million people are expected to travel through the Providence area, according to Ocean State 2026. The city also ranked first on Zillow’s list of the summer’s hottest rental markets in the country.

The benefits will be spread out across the state, said James Diossa, chairman of Ocean State 2026 and the state’s general treasurer.

Central Falls, a majority-Latino city, will be home to Colombia’s large fan base, he said, while Pawtucket and East Providence will be where many fans of the Cape Verde and Portugal teams will congregate.

There will also be a fan zone for the Portugal national team in Providence.

Mr. Diossa said the state was playing its rightful role in a region that will host dozens of games in the Northeast, including in Philadelphia, East Rutherford, N.J., and, of course, Foxborough.

“There’s no such thing as competing,” Mr. Diossa said. “Whatever is good for Massachusetts is good for Rhode Island, and vice versa.”

The Boston 26 Host Committee said in an email that “the true magic of this tournament will be the collective New England hospitality.”

“From the historic streets of Boston to the vibrant culture of Providence, down to the shores of the Cape, we are ready to show the world what makes our corner of the country so special,” it said.

Scotland’s last appearance in the World Cup was in 1998, and its fans have already left a mark on this one. They have made a $10,000 donation to Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence.

“Part of what makes that possible is the money our supporters have saved,” Mr. Cox said. “Every dollar not spent on overpriced bus tickets, FIFA’s outrageously expensive parking, Boston 2026’s unaffordable train, or Boston hotel rates, is a dollar that can go back into the community.

“Providence has welcomed us with open arms, and we intend to repay that warmth in full.”

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