North Texas officials prepare transportation plan for 2026 FIFA World Cup

DALLAS – The FIFA World Cup is still two years away and North Texas will host nine games, including one of the semifinals.

Officials will meet on Thursday to develop a transportation plan for the major event.

Even though the World Cup seems far away, there is a lot of planning involved.

North Texas officials plan to transport tens of thousands of fans and staff daily on public transit.

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The host committee must submit a transport plan to FIFA by March.

Before you know it, tens of thousands of fans from around the world will converge on North Texas for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

AT&T Stadium will host nine games, including a semifinal game, in a city known for its lack of public transportation.

Michael Morris is transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments. He was the transportation manager for Super Bowl 45. His team is tasked with developing a transportation plan for the event.

“We will have a designated express route for charter buses with a direct ramp from that lane into the stadium. And that track will reverse,” he explained.

Arlington has been the backdrop for many major sporting events, from regular-season Cowboys and Rangers games to the Super Bowl, Final Four and World Series.

“We have four redundant modes of transportation: highway, express lane charter, TRE, charter feeder bus and public sector bus bridge. These four modes of transportation will power the stadium,” Morris said.

Fair Park will be the location for the fan festival.

DART rail will be a key component of this part of the plan. But the scene last weekend during the Texas-OU game may not instill confidence in crowd control.

Morris said they have a plan in case the trains back up.

“When these trains start to fill up, we will not clog them up, but will send them directly to the shared station with public sector buses on the express line,” he explained.

On Thursday, the North Texas COG will approve funding to get the ball rolling. The host committee must submit a transport plan to FIFA by March.

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The Host Committee is responsible for the transportation of FIFA teams, officials, volunteers and staff. This applies in addition to the tickets for fans.

“There will be 30,000 or 40,000. We will know the capacity. The stadium will fall back to our numbers,” Morris explained. “Then we go through where do we want people to park? How many do we think take public transport? How many do we think take charter buses?”

Morris said they would also consider purchasing new TRE trains to reduce wear and tear during the event, and training and hiring new shuttle bus drivers.