Foxborough Select Board Approves FY27 Budget, Warns World Cup License Will Not Issue Without Secured Funds

FOXBOROUGH — February 17, 2026 — Foxborough Select Board unanimously approved a $96.9 million fiscal year 2027 balanced budget and delivered blunt warnings to FIFA World Cup officials that the town will not issue an entertainment license until security funding is in hand. Town Manager Paige Mullen's recommended budget reflects a 4.37 percent overall increase, with health insurance costs rising from $9 million in FY24 to a proposed $10.8 million, prompting the town to retain benefits consultants Hill Group to evaluate alternatives to its Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association membership. On the World Cup front, representatives from Boston Soccer 26 and FIFA 26 venue operations director Kevin Clark could not tell the board who would cover an estimated $7.8 million in public safety costs, with a FEMA grant application pending and Craft Sports and Entertainment said to be backstopping pre-grant spending. "We will not issue this license," one board member said flatly, adding that the town of 18,000 residents cannot front costs approaching 10 percent of its annual budget. The board also voted unanimously to submit a third federal BUILD grant application for a pedestrian bridge over Route 1 near Gillette Stadium, with the revised project cost set at $31.25 million and a $6.25 million cash match to be provided by Foxborough Realty Associates at no cost to the town.