More than 3 million visitors are projected to come through North Texas during the World Cup, and after years of planning, Trinity Metro, DART and the region’s World Cup organizers say they are ready to help move fans around.
The plan centers on rail and buses, with the TRE CentrePort station in East Fort Worth serving as a focal point for ticketed fans traveling to matches at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, which has been temporarily renamed “Dallas Stadium” during the World Cup.
Monica Paul, with the North Texas FIFA World Cup organizing committee, said planners expect to learn quickly once the first match arrives and they’ve run their plan through the paces.
Organizers forecast that about 12,000 fans per match will arrive by public transit via DART in Dallas and Trinity Metro in Fort Worth.
Because there is no transit station outside “Dallas Stadium” in Arlington, fans will board TRE trains at Dallas’ Victory Station and Fort Worth Central Station, then get off at CentrePort. From there, they will walk through a parking lot retrofitted for fan comfort and safety during the North Texas summer.
Shade structures have already been installed along the route from the train platform to the charter buses. Fans will have several shaded areas to use as they make their way toward buses bound for Arlington. Game tickets will be checked at another shaded location, and fans will then wait in more shade to board the charter buses.
Karla Windsor, with the North Central Texas Council of Governments, said Tarrant County Health and Fort Worth Fire will be on site with water and support for anyone affected by the heat.
Capacity is also increasing. TRE trains will run four cars every 30 minutes, with enough room for between 1,000 and 1,200 riders per train.
Charter buses will fill up continuously by the dozen on match days to get fans closer to the stadium. Once fans are dropped off at Lot H, they will find more shade while waiting for another shuttle to the FIFA security fence. Fans can also walk along a dedicated pedestrian path, which will be widened by closing one lane of car traffic.
For local fans with FIFA match tickets, planners are still asking them to drive to Arlington and allow visitors to North Texas to use public transit on game days.
Windsor said seeing the plan in action will be exciting after years of preparation.
“We’ve planned and planned and planned – so I think seeing it activated is going to be really exciting,” Windsor said.
The first of nine World Cup matches is on Saturday, June 14.