HOUSTON — More than two weeks since the worldwide soccer tournament was launched, the FIFA World Cup events have drawn thousands of fans to Texas.
Many visitors are traveling from around the world to the host cities in Texas: Arlington and Houston, where astronomical crowds have descended into Space City for the fan experience.
According to Houston’s FIFA World Cup Host Committee, as of Friday, the city had welcomed over 500,000 people attending the events over the last two weeks. That includes about 231,000 people attending the FIFA Fan Festival and Major League Soccer celebration events — watching the matches on the big screen and soaking in the occasion.
The host committee says the festival has operated at full capacity, averaging nearly 17,000 visitors a day and 12% more than what the committee projected.
A group of fans from Brazil said they flew in to the East Coast and drove an RV all the way to Texas.
“It’s a dream for us, watching Brazil game at the World Cup,” said Marcelo Francisco, one of the Brazilian fans.
The last match in Houston is on July 4, and the festival ends on July 19, when the World Cup ends.
In a news release issued on Saturday, Houston Host Committee President Chris Conetti said the staff is now focusing on continuing their operational momentum as they welcome more teams and fans through the end of the tournament.
As expected, there’s lots of traffic congestion with road closures, but the host committee says lots of fans have relied on public transportation to get from hotels to the festival, stadium and entertainment district. They say Metrorail carried more than 246,000 riders across the first four match days in Houston.