Fans take photos in front of the prop during FIFA Fan Fest, on June 13 in Dallas.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
Welcome to North Texas, World Cup fans! We are excited you are here to cheer on your teams and experience some Texas hospitality during your stay. Perhaps a trip to Buc-ee’s or a pair of cowboy boots are in your future.
But we wanted to warn you that if you’re thinking of walking, Dallas is almost certainly not like the place you come from. If you choose to journey on foot, heed this editorial.
The matches will be held at “Dallas Stadium,” but despite its name, the stadium is located in our neighboring city of Arlington. And by “neighboring,” we mean it’s an incredibly long way away. That’s Texas. So plan to call a rideshare or adventure on the conveyor belt of trains and buses and shuttles that will take you to the stadium.
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And while the matches are in Arlington, the fan fest with food vendors, merchandise and live broadcasts of the matches, is in Fair Park in Dallas. That’s about 20 miles away or 32.2 kilometers. Think Amsterdam to Haarlem but with terrible traffic.
By its name — FIFA Fan Fest at Fair Park — you would probably think the festival spans the entire grounds of Fair Park. However, unlike the State Fair that takes over Fair Park’s sprawling campus and occupies the park’s stately buildings, FIFA’s fan fest is at the far-flung reaches of the park, sequestered in a fenced-off portion of the parking lot at Dos Equis Pavilion.
Don’t get us wrong — the FIFA store filled with jerseys and the massive screens at the amphitheater to watch the matches looks like a great time. But getting there might not be so simple.
There are signs directing rideshares to drop-off locations at the entrance of the fan fest, and parking is available, but if you’re hoping to take public transportation, the journey is a little more complicated.
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The Fair Park Dallas Area Rapid Transit station is at the main entrance to the park, which is about a mile trek on foot from the fan fest. A mile walk in Dallas in June is not a jaunt in Tokyo this time of year. Bring water. Or you can hop on the tram shuttle.
At Fair Park, FIFA has installed signs marking bicycle and scooter lanes in its signature purple and lime green branding. We are all for exploring more ways to get people to the fan fest, but getting in and out of Fair Park is hard enough. Bikes and scooters and cars all sharing the road will make the gridlock worse. And we certainly don’t need e-bikes and scooters littering the sidewalk, creating another obstacle for fan fest-goers trying to navigate on foot.
Around the corner from Fair Park, at the Santa Fe trailhead, FIFA’s purple signs point in the direction of Fair Park. But once you arrive at the park’s main gates, you are still a ways away from the fan fest in the parking lot (that’s the mile walk). The signs also helpfully indicate that downtown is a 45-minute walk in the opposite direction. Good luck, travelers.
Unhelpfully, one of the downtown signs has been laid in the grass with some rocks on top so it doesn’t fly away. The wayfinding guide that has already fallen down doesn’t instill much confidence for directing fans.
Frankly, it may be better that the signs are down. A Fair Park-to-downtown hike is not something we would recommend to visitors, or anyone for that matter.
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Setting the weather aside, the cracked sidewalks, the freeway underpasses, the general malaise of a variety of dead zones and the maze-like path are just plain treacherous.
Those planning this event have done their best, we guess, to get people to and fro. But we should be honest that no amount of signage and other spackle is going to cover up Dallas’ unfriendly pedestrian infrastructure.
For the most part, dear visitors, hop on a bus or a train. Or do what those of us who live here do and find a car.
Cheer loudly, enjoy the atmosphere and make the most of your visit. If you’re walking, good luck.
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