u/jspector9

The company’s Sacramento, Calif., production facility was constructed in the 1980s to gain a foothold in the U.S. transit market, which had become reliably funded by a portion of the federal Highway Trust Fund.

Utilizing Americanized derivatives of locomotives and railcars plying government-financed European systems, Siemens was in position to capture a rare upswing in the feast-or-famine cycle of intercity passenger rail investment.

An Amtrak order for 70 ACS64 electric motors for the Northeast Corridor was soon followed by the Brightline equipment. The company then built Venture equipment for Midwest states and California after the failure of an ill-fated Nippon Sharyo bilevel procurement, as well as trainsets for VIA Rail Canada and Ontario Northland.

Siemens couldn’t possibly fill all the contracts in Sacramento. So, in 2023, it selected an industrial-zoned greenfield site near Lexington for a second facility. The project was backed by $25 million of federal funding from Biden administration programs, plus state and local incentives. Those include infrastructure support and a performance-based North Carolina $5.6 million Job Development Investment Grant, helping the company tap an already-skilled local workforce.

Organizers in Los Angeles will charge for tickets to their World Cup Fan Fest events this summer.

L.A. Sports & Entertainment Commission president and CEO Kathryn Schloessman tells Front Office Sports the opening celebrations at USC’s Memorial Coliseum, plus the additional 10 regional fan zones throughout Southern California, will require paid tickets for attendees ages 12 and up.

“If they don’t buy tickets, you have no idea who’s going to show up,” Schloessman says. “Having the right amount of staffing and security there for the number of people coming is really important.”

FIFA Fan Fests are large watch parties that have historically been free since their official inception in 2006. But this year, host committees have struggled with meeting FIFA’s intention for free, centralized events running the full length of the tournament, especially with strict FIFA limits around fundraising and onerous security costs. Many cities have scaled back initial plans, or are slicing up a singular Fan Fest into smaller watch parties.

• Specific areas of Penn Station will close to the general public and only allow World Cup ticket holders for four-hour windows prior to kickoffs for eight matches held at Metlife Stadium.
• Entrances on 32nd and 33rd street along 7th ave will close except for verified World Cup ticket-holders.
• NJ Transit riders will face disruptions

Ahead of this summer’s World Cup, FIFA has a new deal with a prediction-market company.

But the multi-year deal isn’t with either of the two giants in the space, nor with any of the smaller but well-known competitors that have popped up in recent months.

Instead, it’s with an obscure blockchain venture from one of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates that has yet to launch.

FIFA’s deal, announced April 2, is with ADI Predictstreet, which says it’s launching on April 9. Its Instagram account has only about 135 followers, and made its first post on March 26, one week before the FIFA announcement. Its X account also launched in March 2026.