ARLINGTON, Texas — When FIFA first announced Arlington would host nine matches of the 2026 World Cup – including a semifinal - there was praise, and then concern over the city’s ability to host such large-scale international events without public transit.
One city leader is urging folks to brush off those fears.
“Now I know the World Cup is at the top of the pedestal, but we are ready and we are prepared for that,” said Arlington city councilman Long Pham. “I know work up is a big thing but we will find a way to do it. We've done it before. That's why we call ourselves the ‘we the can do city’ and we can do it well.”
Now the region will have to prove it again to FIFA. They’ve got five months to draft up a playbook of transportation plans for the games.
“The information that they're requesting, it's a very comprehensive coordinating and overlay of all of the different transportation providers that will be in the area for the upcoming events,” said North Central Texas Council of Governments program manager Karla Windsor.
The Regional Transportation Committee, a branch of NCTCOG, is in charge of putting it together.
“Things will have to move quickly, we're getting it out quickly,” Windsor said. “And then work has to get going ASAP.”
Windsor says in partnership with the Dallas Sports Commission, they have been kicking around ideas since they learned they won the bids. Everything from charter buses to more creative alternatives like autonomous trolley services.
“We're going to be looking at parking, we're going to be looking at alternative modes of transportation, sort of outlining the transit options, the multimodal options,” Windsor said.
The plan is to hire an outside consulting firm to do the legwork and put those ideas into the nationwide common format required by FIFA. The RTC will foot the estimated $1 million bill and it’s on the RTC’s consent agenda for its monthly meeting Thursday.
“All the pieces are there, but it's really linking them together and it's really just a compliment to our staff to be able to get this in writing and meet the quick deadlines and time frames that FIFA has set,” Windsor said.
The details of the plan still aren’t entirely public, but they say they’re confident what they put together will be a success.
“I will tell you from some of the national and international meetings we've been on our region is very far ahead compared to some others. So I think we're in good shape,” said Windsor.
Dallas Sports Commission Executive Director Monica Paul released the following statement to WFAA:
“We are looking forward to the meeting on Thursday as we continue our discussions in building a successful transportation plan that fits FIFA’s requirements for the 2026 World Cup and the nine matches that will be held in our region.”
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