Small Businesses Feel Left Out as Inglewood Brings in Millions From World Cup

Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, July 17, 2026 - The World Cup games have attracted thousands to stadiums across the country, as fans gathered to attend matches in person. That includes in Inglewood, which hosted eight games. It’s the latest global event to come to the city’s revitalized sports and entertainment district. But the extra foot traffic hasn’t been a boon for everyone. City of Inglewood brings in millions from World Cup, but not all businesses benefiting The city of Inglewood hosted eight World Cup matches, including two of the first three U.S. games in the tournament. That means thousands of fans gathered in and around SoFi Stadium. It’s part of a huge revitalization for the city under Mayor James Butts. “When I took office in 2011, the Forum was closed. The Lakers and Kings had left for the Staples Center in 1999,” Butts said. “We had an $18 million structural deficit and bankruptcy looming. (So) the first thing I did was negotiate with Madison Square Garden to get them to invest what ended up being $140 million in the renovation of the Forum. People said that no one will come back to Inglewood for concerts and entertainment because of the crime, the gangs, the poverty. By 2014, the Forum was the number one concert venue in the Western United States.” Soon after, the Inglewood City Council approved plans for what would become SoFi Stadium, which is now the home for the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers in the National Football League. And just down the street, the Los Angeles Clippers now call the Intuit Dome home. Butts said there’s still plenty of new developments coming to the growing sports and entertainment district. “There’s housing yet to be built, there’s a movie studio – the first movie studio built in Los Angeles County since the 50s and that’s going to be the communications hub for the 2028 Olympics,” Butts said. “The retail is still being filled out and leased.” Butts estimates that hosting the World Cup will bring in about $17 million to the city. But not everyone is seeing the benefits. Local business owners we spoke with said the large crowds haven’t necessarily made their way to the downtown area, which is about a mile from SoFi Stadium. Trevor Graham owns In The Cut Barbershop. “We cheered for and rooted on the influx of money that was supposed to be coming into the community,” he said. “However, the small businesses don’t get to see it.” Graham said the stadiums have brought a lot of development as well. While that’s often a good thing for a city, he said it’s also increased the cost of living. “A lot of small businesses have been pushed out. The rent has increased. So that makes it hard for some small businesses to sustain,” he said. Cherella Nicholson is president of the newly formed Downtown Inglewood Association. The group looks at ways of organizing and supporting small businesses. “We need a little bit of a facelift. There’s a number of vacant buildings,” she said. “And so it’s like, who speaks up, who advocates for those businesses, right?” Among longtime residents and business owners, there’s concerns about gentrification in the historically Black and Latino community, and the fate of legacy businesses. But Mayor Butts pushes back on that narrative. “Five million people come into Inglewood every year. Five million to see 400 events. And so your hypothesis would be they’re better off with there being no cars and people, no credit cards and cash coming in the city at all. Do you understand how absurd that is? That’s why we were going broke,” he said. But Nicholson said there needs to be some balance. especially as the city hosts more and more large-scale events. “I think as a resident and business owner, it is very exciting to have a sports and entertainment district and see the city evolve. To see the community and economic development, it’s great for the city,” she said. “I think there just needs to be a little bit more sophistication on what equitable economic development looks like, equitable community development, to make sure that we have equitable housing development. I think the new housing is great, but we know this is not the housing that’s for legacy residents based on the median income of the city. Some neighborhood change is good. But I think the key point is making sure economic development is equitable for everyone.” The city is hosting the Super Bowl next February and will be an integral part of the 2028 Summer Olympics. Locals hope that by then, things will change for the better for everyone.