With Arlington hosting nine 2026 FIFA World Cup matches across the span of a month, officials are preparing for a mass influx of visitors to the city and surrounding areas.
With less than a week to go until the first game in AT&T Stadium, which will be renamed Dallas Stadium during the tournament, many eyes are on one dreaded occurrence: traffic congestion.
“We get nine matches here, and we’re prepping and then debriefing and adjusting things based on our first experience,” said Natalie Bettger, senior program manager of congestion management and system operations for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, or NCTCOG. “We get nine opportunities in five weeks to implement, adjust, implement, adjust.”
The key goal of the World Cup transportation plan is getting fans to the stadium. Fans will arrive at CentrePort Station by train, either from downtown Dallas or Fort Worth, before being bused to Arlington’s Entertainment District.
Those buses will park at Texas Rangers Lot H for drop-off, where fans will begin their walk to the stadium, Bettger said.
Others will choose to drive their own vehicles to the games.
NCTCOG expects some congestion around the stadium, Bettger said. The organization is working to direct some cars to different routes to and from parking lots.
“We have a lot of options to get to a (parking) lot around here. It’s not one exit you have to get off of, so our goal is to try to balance that so it’s not a complete standstill on our roadway system,” Bettger said.
What’s the best way to beat the traffic on major roadways?
Bettger said she expects the three hours before and after the games to have significant traffic congestion. Here’s what she said could help residents beat the traffic:
Delay your trip through the district or leave early to avoid match traffic.
If you live near the stadium, work from home, if possible.
Avoid major roadways such as Interstate 30 or State Highway 360; instead, take Interstate 20 or State Highway 183 when possible.
Check match days and times to prepare a time to leave if you pass through the Entertainment District.
Managing the influx of traffic is something that will take coordination across transportation groups, Bettger said.
In Arlington, the plan’s success is in the fine details.
The city has upgraded technology and software to respond to the expected increase in travelers, Arlington’s city traffic engineer Chris Funches said.
One example of that preparation includes NoTraffic cameras the city purchased in 2024.
Those AI-powered cameras have been deployed at intersections across the Entertainment District to track how many cars or pedestrians are crossing throughout the event.
The technology will help the city address vehicle and pedestrian routing and allow emergency services to go through intersections uninterrupted when needed, Funches said.
Four active command centers will watch regional transportation, Funches said, focusing on the traffic surrounding the stadium and at the bus drop-off point.
“On match days, we’re going to actively manage (the intersections and signal times) to make sure that we’re looking on our camera and our screens of those intersections to be able to allow more efficient travel time,” Funches said. “If we need to add more time somewhere, we’ll be able to actively see that and do that.”
One of the largest pieces of preparation regards international visitors.
“One of the things we look at is, ‘How can we make (traveling to and from AT&T Stadium) easier for them?’” Funches said.
That includes wayfinding signs provided by FIFA as well as new overhead signs installed by the city along major corridors, Funches said.
Funches said the city doesn’t anticipate much of the traffic to flow outside of the Entertainment District and that the city’s current operations for traffic will remain.
The city will also report all road closures for navigation apps, ensuring platforms like Google Maps or Waze Navigation & Live Traffic have accurate information, Funches said.
“It’s not like these events are coming to Arlington, and during these 45 days, the rest of the city will be forgotten,” Funches said. “We’re making sure that we’re staffing appropriately to pretty much continue to provide the service to the rest of Arlington’s citizens.”
Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@arlingtonreport.org.
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