There’s been a lot of controversy lately about skyrocketing train-ticket prices for World Cup matches, including $150 to attend games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., and $80 to get to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. However, there are also several World Cup stadiums that are close to city centers and won’t require an expensive train ticket to get to. Some of them can even be walked to from downtown.

BC Place – 1 mile

Of the 16 stadiums that will host World Cup matches this summer, BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, is the closest one to the corresponding host city’s city center at less than a mile. In fact, many of those downtown can reach the stadium in less than 15 minutes walking time.

Fans who are traveling to BC Place for World Cup matches can also take Skytrain. If you do this, get off at the Stadium/Chinatown station or at the Yaletown/Roundhouse station, and walk the few minutes from there to the facility. Numerous buses also serve BC Place.

Lumen Field – 1 mile

Cascadia is arguably known as the epicenter of football in the USA-Canada region, and even those who disagree with that sentiment have to admit that its football stadiums are very conveniently located. Just a three-hour drive south of Vancouver is Seattle’s Lumen Field, and this stadium is also only a mile from downtown.

The facility, which is also the home of the MLS’ Seattle Sounders, can be reached within a 20-minute walk from much of downtown Seattle. You can also walk here from the International District/Chinatown and Stadium Link light rail stations. In fact, Lumen Field is even within walking distance of Amtrak’s King Street Station.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium – 1 mile

A third World Cup stadium that has a very close-by city center is Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium as a mile also separates these two places. That short distance means that this is also a stadium that can be walked to without too much difficulty from elsewhere in the downtown area.

That said, taking a MARTA train will make the experience even easier, especially considering the summertime heat that Atlanta experiences. If you go that route, get off at its SEC District Station. This public transport system also serves much of the rest of the Atlanta metropolitan area along its 48 miles of track.

AT&T Stadium – 1 mile*

AT&T Stadium receives a notable asterisk as it’s a little more than a mile from the downtown area in Arlington, Texas, but is far from the official host city of Dallas’ city center.

If you are in downtown Arlington, you could walk from there to AT&T Stadium, but it would likely take more than 30 minutes in likely hot conditions. And, notably, Arlington has no public transport options other than on-demand vans.

As for how far AT&T Stadium is from downtown Dallas, that’s 18 miles. In addition, it’s 15 miles from Fort Worth’s city center.

BMO Field – 3 miles

BMO Field is a little further from its nearby downtown area at 3 miles, but that’s still a relatively short distance. Walking, however, is out of the question unless you’re looking to fully enjoy the experience and the gradual buildup in energy as you get closer to the stadium, spending an hour of walking time to get to the game.

Conversely, to reach this World Cup stadium via public transport, you have a few options. One is taking a GO train to the Exhibition station. You could also ride various Toronto Transit Commission streetcars and buses to the facility.

Lincoln Financial Field – 4 miles

Lincoln Financial Field is located 4 miles south of Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and the rest of downtown Philadelphia. Although this is a long distance to walk, public transportation options between the two areas are numerous.

One of the most common ways that World Cup fans will make this trip is via a ride on the SEPTA Broad Street subway line to AT&T Station. Several buses also serve this route, but note that those have to deal with traffic, which trains bypass by going under it.

Estadio BBVA – 6 miles

Also closer to the city center than is usual for 2026 World Cup venues is Estadio BBVA. It’s situated 6 miles from downtown Monterrey, Mexico, in nearby Guadalupe.

Fans looking for a public-transportation way to get to this stadium should catch a Metrorrey Line 1 train and ride it to its final stop: Exposicion station. Several buses can also take you from downtown Monterrey to Estadio BBVA.

NRG Stadium – 6 miles

Getting from Houston’s city center to NRG Stadium to attend World Cup matches is a simple process. All that you need to do is get on a METRORail Red Line train and ride it until it reaches the Stadium Park/Astrodome station, a journey that will take about 20 minutes.

Conclusion

Eight – half – of the World Cup venues are located within 6 miles of their nearest city’s downtown area, and most of them feature convenient public transportation options.

With the exception of AT&T Stadium, these are the places you want to go if getting to matches with ease is a priority. They’re much preferred over somewhere like Gillette Stadium, which is 20 miles from Boston and has no affordable public transportation options to choose from, just that $80 round-trip train ticket.