PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The state's projected $330 million in economic benefit from the 2026 World Cup is not held in any account, is not scheduled for disbursement, and has in some sense already occurred, a deputy director for strategic outcomes said Tuesday.

"It's not a check," said Dennis Fortuna, responding to questions about where the figure resides. "People keep asking which drawer it's in. That's not how impact works. It's in the economy. It's been in the economy."

Asked which portion of the economy, Fortuna said the department does not disaggregate.

The figure was announced in June of last year and has since appeared in three press releases, a legislative summary and one bond memorandum, each citing the others.

A public records request returned a single presentation slide bearing the number, the phrase regional visitation uplift, and no footnote.

Fortuna confirmed the slide is the source document.

The department acknowledged that no World Cup match will be played in Rhode Island. Matches in the region are scheduled for Foxborough, Massachusetts, roughly twenty-five miles from the State House.

Fortuna described this as "a normal feature of regional benefit" and noted that the state's proximity to the venue is itself an asset the state has been counting since 2023.

Pressed on what the $330 million bought, officials identified hotel nights, restaurant covers, fuel purchases, and what one memorandum terms ambient enthusiasm.

Asked whether any of these had been measured, a spokesman said the department measures them annually and that the figures were consistent with the estimate, which had been built from them.

The estimate was produced under contract by an outside firm. The contract's value is included in the $330 million.

"That's correct," Fortuna said. "It's economic activity. It happened here."

No official signs for the figure. The department confirmed that estimates are not signed, that only expenditures are signed, and that the estimate is not an expenditure.

Asked who would be accountable if the $330 million did not materialize, Fortuna said the question assumed a materialization event, and that none was scheduled. He added that the department stood behind the number and would revisit it in 2027, at which point it will be historical.

At press time, the state had not identified any business, municipality or resident in receipt of any portion of the $330 million. Fortuna said this was expected.

"It's diffuse," he said. "That's the whole point of a multiplier. If you could point to it, it'd be a grant."