MA: Transportation officials warn World Cup visitors and residents: ‘Plan ahead’

For all those traveling to FIFA games and anywhere in the area around them this summer, transportation officials had one main message Monday: plan ahead.

“FIFA is not your typical event,” warned MassDOT Undersecretary of Transportation Jonathan Gulliver. “While we’ve had many things at Gillette Stadium, this is like a Taylor Swift concert, playoff series, World Series and Super Bowl all in one place.”

Massachusetts will host seven World Cup matches between June 13 and July 9 in Gillette — to be temporarily renamed Boston Stadium during the event — in Foxboro. Public officials have stated they expect over two million visitors to the region for the matches, and agencies across government have been meeting regularly to plan for the events for two years.

The “number one takeaway” for residents and visitors, Gulliver said at a press conference with transportation officials Monday morning, is to plan ahead.

“We want to make sure that it is the best experience for everybody who needs to use our roadways, public transportation, getting to the game,” Gulliver said. “But others who are just not interested in the game, who are just traveling around the state, we want to make sure that you are planning ahead for those games.”

For those attending a game, officials said the “much, much easier” experience will be taking public transport.

The MBTA Commuter Rail is offering limited $80 “Boston Stadium Train tickets” available to be purchased in advance by those who have a ticket to a match on the same day, allowing travel between South Station and the stadium. The agency reported record-smashing sales of the tickets in their first day available.

MBTA Chief Operating Officer Ryan Coholan said the “Friendly Match” test run held in March was considered a “success” for the agency, but officials plan to debrief on how to improve operations after each match.

Gulliver also cited buses available from South Station, various participating hotels across the state and a number of charter buses, emphasizing any of the public transportation options will be the “easiest way in and out of the stadium, by far.”

There will be some dedicated bus lanes on the way to the stadium, though officials warned traffic will also impact their travel.

For those planning on driving to the matches, Gulliver noted the need to plan for both heavy traffic and very limited parking.

“If you’re somebody from New England and you’ve gone to a Patriots game before, and you know the parking situation, it is not going to be the same,” Gulliver said.

Drivers should buy parking spaces now to ensure they have a place to be on gameday, the undersecretary said.

“Second thing, if you’re driving, there’s going to be a lot of extra traffic on the roadways,” said Gulliver. “A lot of these games are not weekend games. Most of them are actually going to be during the weekdays and are just going to have general traffic to deal with, plus stadium traffic.”

Those driving should plan of “leaving much earlier,” stay on main roadways and follow stadium signs to keep the experience as easy as possible, he added.

And to those unavoidably commuting around the area during match days, Gulliver said, there will be “a lot of extra congestion” especially during the several hours before and after the games.

“If you don’t have to travel in and around the area, we really want you to stay away for that day,” Gulliver stressed.

Likewise, fans who are not going to the matches should also avoid going to the stadium and instead seek out one of the many fan events available around the state, officials said.

“The first Tuesday game is going to be on June 16, at 6 p.m.,” said Gulliver. “Those weekday ones, especially on Tuesdays and Fridays, are going to be difficult. They’re happening right at a very difficult time of the day for commuters, and all of them, unfortunately, are times that are going to cause traffic. So want you to be aware, number one takeaway here today is plan ahead.”

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