North Texas officials ready transportation plan for 2026 FIFA World Cup
DALLAS - The FIFA World Cup is two years away, and North Texas will host nine matches including one of the semi-final games.
Officials will meet Thursday to get the ball rolling on a transportation plan for the big event.
While the World Cup seems far away, there is a lot of planning involved.
North Texas officials plan on moving tens of thousands of fans and staff a day on public transportation.
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The host committee has to have a transportation plan in to FIFA by March.
Before you know it, tens of thousands of fans from all over the world will converge on North Texas for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
AT&T Stadium will be the site of nine matches, including a semifinal game, in a city well-known for its lack of public transportation.
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Michael Morris is the director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments. He was the head of transportation for Super Bowl 45. His team has the task of coming up with a transportation plan for the event.
"We're going to have a designated express line for charter buses with a direct ramp off of that lane into the into the stadium. And that lane will reverse," he explained.
Arlington has been the backdrop for many significant sporting events — from regular season Cowboys and Rangers games to the Super Bowl, Final Four and World Series.
"We have four redundant, freeway, express lane charter, TRE, charter feeder bus and public sector bus bridge. Those four modes of transportation will drive the stadium," said Morris.
Fair Park will be the site for fan fest.
DART rail will be a key component of that part of the plan. But the scene this past weekend during the Texas-OU game might not boost confidence about crowd control.
Morris said they have a plan for when trains get backed up.
"If those trains are starting to fill up, instead of clogging up the trains, we’ll directly send them by public sector buses on the express line directly to the common station," he explained.
Thursday, North Texas COG will approve funding to get the ball rolling. The host committee has to have a transportation plan in to FIFA by March.
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The host committee is responsible for transporting FIFA teams, officials, volunteers and employees. That's on top of the ticketed fans.
"It's going to be 30,000 or 40,000. We'll know the capacity. The stadium will back into our number," explained Morris. "Then, we will go through where do we wish to park people? How many do we think are taking public transit? How many do we think are taking charter buses?"
Morris said they will also consider buying new TRE trains so there will be less wear and tear on them for the event and training and hiring new drivers for shuttle buses.