Select Board tables circus permit over World Cup police staffing crunch

PLAINVILLE -- May 29, 2026, Plainville Select Board tables circus permit application amid FIFA World Cup staffing concerns. The board continued the permit for a two-day circus event, scheduled for July 8 and 9 at an unspecified town site, to its June 8 meeting after town administration warned that a FIFA World Cup quarterfinal game at Gillette Stadium on July 9 would leave the police department without the capacity to provide a free detail as it had in each of the event's two prior years. "This year is unique to a sense where we have essentially six Super Bowls coming over a period of four weeks in Foxborough," one board member said. The applicant, whose event draws roughly 300 attendees per show, was directed to submit a missing parking and site plan and to reach an agreement on the cost of a paid police detail before the board will vote. The Board of Health separately reminded the organizer that a food-concession permit is also required.