There is a massive potential economic opportunity in Philly this year, but without strategy and preparation, local businesses could miss out.  

The region is set to host a plethora of major events, including World Cup games, the MLB All-Star game and America’s 250th birthday. The city is projected to have more than a million visitors throughout the year, resulting in about $1 billion in economic impact, according to the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

For small businesses, 2026 could bring a short-term windfall. The real challenge — and measure of economic impact — will be turning that energy into lasting, equitable growth that reaches beyond Center City.

“What happens afterwards?” Najiba Benabess, an economist and associate provost and dean at Neumann University, told Technical.ly. “We need to make sure, number one, we help the small businesses [that] are going to be seeing such growth during that period of time.” 

City agencies say they’re stepping up with programming to help. 

The city government and its partners are making sure to highlight events and businesses in all neighborhoods. For example, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau put together resource guides for visitors that highlight businesses around the city, Ira Rosen, an associate professor of event and entertainment management at Temple University, said. 

This kind of undertaking requires collaboration and partnerships. Orgs like the Chamber of Commerce and hospitality trade associations are working with the city to highlight attractions, restaurants and other businesses, he said. 

“We’re not going to see [another] 2026 for a long time,” Rosen said. “How do we make sure that we’re maintaining that momentum? A lot of really smart marketing people and visibility.” 

Small businesses, however, don’t always have the capital to pull that off.

Not all growth is equitable 

While having so many people coming into the region is exciting, there are also some potential drawbacks for business owners. It’s important that they prepare for the surge by scaling up leadership, staff and infrastructure — but if they’re just starting now, they’re already behind.

Businesses need to plan ahead and create strategies to promote themselves and their stories, to bring even more traffic in, Benabess said. This involves investing in marketing and branding for the business.  

But preparing for this attention will take funding, she said, and not all companies have the cash to do it. 

“Not every small business has the infrastructure or has the capital to just scale up,” Benabess said. “So those will be the losers of this kind of opportunity, right? So it’s not going to be equitable.”

Businesses are also reckoning with the fact that despite efforts from leaders, the opportunities are not equal, she said. For example, small businesses not in prime event locations will miss out more than those in high-traffic areas, even with the city’s efforts to change that.

Businesses without the money to scale up can still lean into marketing themselves, she said. 

Ideally, these investments will be able to serve businesses beyond 2026, and the lessons owners learn throughout the year will inform future long-term growth, Benabess said. 

Business growth can lead to job growth 

Small businesses aren’t the only companies hoping to grow from the events in 2026. There are also opportunities to bring major employers into the region, according to James Medaglio, vice president of business attraction and expansion at the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia. 

Medaglio’s team is focused on engaging business leaders from across the country and showing them why they should consider coming to Philly.

Their plan for 2026 is to host “market familiarization tours” where they fly in CEOs and site selectors to show off the region ahead of an event like a World Cup game. 

This includes tours of potential site locations and introductions to local stakeholders and chamber members who can share their experience doing business in the region. 

“When we bring them in to show them a good time, we’re really trying to connect them with those CEOs and government officials,” Medaglio said. “To tell them about what’s happening from a business standpoint, that’s different.” 

It can take years for a company to make the move to a new region and create real impact, Medaglio said. But the aim is that these efforts now will get the ball rolling for more economic opportunities over the next five years. 

The overall goal with attracting new businesses to the region is to create more jobs that have potential for economic mobility, he said, aiming to generate buzz that keeps companies coming back for years to come. 

Whether it’s creating jobs at large corporations or helping small businesses thrive, these opportunities will all ultimately benefit the region, leaders say. 

“2026 isn’t the end, it’s the start,” Medaglio said. “We are going to create that lasting impression and then continue the momentum in subsequent years so that we can really capitalize on that momentum and continue to bring in companies.”