On the headline numbers, this looked like a major win for the city.
That tracks with what big football events often do: they reward places closest to fan traffic, transport hubs and late-night footfall. If you were near the centre, especially around the main matchday and watch-party routes, the World Cup appears to have felt like a genuine commercial surge.
The report also paints a more complicated map. Some neighbourhood businesses reportedly extended hours, hired extra staff and showed matches, only to find the crowds never really arrived. Entertainment and tourism operators also appear to have been hit by road closures, expensive hotels and regular visitors staying away.
That is the awkward truth of tournament economics. A city can post big football numbers while plenty of smaller operators still miss out. The glow of a global event does not automatically travel block by block.
There were exceptions - and they matter. In Jamaica Plain, the report says The Haven welcomed more than 3,000 Scotland supporters across the national team’s two matches in Foxborough. That is a reminder that football fans do not only spend in postcard locations; they will travel for atmosphere, identity and a sense of belonging.
Boston’s next challenge is obvious. The next time a major football event lands, the storyline to watch will be whether organisers can push that energy beyond downtown - with better neighbourhood promotion, smarter transport links and fan experiences that spread the spending more fairly.