From Arrival to Kick-off: The Easiest Stadiums to Get To

The World Cup is fast approaching in North America, across the USA, Canada, and Mexico, and will no doubt be attracting a massive number of soccer fans. As the biggest global soccer tournament, it’s no surprise that FIFA has currently projected five million fans to attend in person. This means that there will be a heavy influx of people trying to make it to the stadiums.

And with the NFL season starting up again in September, it won’t be long after the World Cup that a new wave of fans will be piling into stadiums again. But which stadiums are the easiest for fans to get to? Well, we have the answer.

Here at Hard Rock, we’ve investigated all World Cup and NFL stadiums, analyzing the distance from the city center, distance from the closest airport, public transport score, traffic congestion level, average distance driven in 15 minutes, and the parking cost.

The World Cup will no doubt increase the prices of parking, but ours are based on the regular costs to park at the stadiums. We’ve then given the stadiums accessibility scores out of 100 and ranked them from easiest to hardest, helping you figure out the most convenient to attend the matches at!

The Best-Connected World Cup Stadiums

Below is a list of the most accessible stadiums for fans who’ll be attending the World Cup in the summer:

#1 – Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Ranking at the top of our index is Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, receiving a final score of 71.07.

It’s the third closest to any airport, located only 8.4 miles from the nearest one, and sits 1.3 miles from the city center. This means that it’s also the third closest stadium to a city’s hub, keeping it accessible regardless of where you’re traveling from.

While it doesn’t rank highest in any single metric, its strong all-round performance positions it as the best-connected World Cup stadium!

#2 – Lumen Field

Coming in as the second-best World Cup stadium for fans is Lumen Field based in Seattle, which achieves a total score of 68.94.

It has a transit score of 100, reflecting the local area’s tremendous infrastructure for public transport, and places as the second closest to the city center – only being 0.8 miles away.

Although it’s slightly further from the airport, at 12.7 miles, its great public transport minimizes this as an issue.

So, being in a prime location and with top-notch transport, Lumen Field is easily one of the best for fans to travel to, earning its second-place spot.

#3 – Hard Rock Stadium

Rounding out the top three best-connected World Cup venues is Hard Rock Stadium, located in Miami, ranking narrowly behind Lumen Field with a final score of 66.18.

Impressively, Hard Rock Stadium has the second-lowest traffic congestion (33.80%), and drivers can travel the second-furthest distance in 15 minutes (7.6 miles). This means the roads are an ideal method of transportation for fans attending matches here.

With Hard Rock Stadium also being the second closest to an airport – only 7.2 miles away – it certainly earns its podium place.

#4 – BC Place

Placing fourth in the rankings with a score of 64.59 is BC Place, which is situated in Vancouver, Canada.

This is the closest stadium to any city center – located only 0.6 miles away – and has a fantastic transit score of 100, making for trouble-free travel. Its higher traffic congestion percentage of 56.50% makes it fall just short of a top three finish, however.

Despite this, its affordable $20 regular parking cost solidifies it into fourth position.

#5 – BMO Field

Rounding out the top five best-connected stadiums at the World Cup is BMO Field in Toronto, achieving an accessibility score of 63.01.

Its strong transit score of 89 and relatively close distance to the city center (3.2 miles) positions it as one of the most ideally located stadiums at the tournament. Considering it also has a low $20 fee for standard parking, it’s great regardless of how you choose to attend any matches here.

However, as it has a slightly further distance from the airport of 13 miles, it’s unable to rank in a stronger position.

The Worst-Connected World Cup Stadiums

Now we’ve discussed the best stadiums for traveling fans at the World Cup, let’s go into which ones will be a little harder to get to:

#1 – SoFi Stadium

Placing as the most difficult stadium to reach at the World Cup, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Los Angeles, finishes with the lowest accessibility score of just 32.62.

Though it has a higher capacity of 70,000 seats, it has an extremely high standard parking cost of $160 – the highest of any stadium – and the third-highest traffic congestion of 59.80%. Combining this with drivers only being able to travel six miles every 15 minutes means that driving is not only costly, but time-consuming as well.

This combination of poor metrics places it as the hardest stadium to travel to for fans attending games here.

#2 – MetLife Stadium

Next up is MetLife Stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which ends with a score of 34.44 for accessibility.

It’s the lowest scoring stadium for the average distance driven in 15 minutes (three miles) and has the third-lowest transit score of 40. Pairing this with a pricy typical parking cost of $100, traveling here is both slower and more costly than many other stadiums at the tournament. Incidentally, it’s billed to host the World Cup final!

#3 – Estadio Akron

Completing the bottom three here is the first of Mexico’s stadiums featured, Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, which scored 35.73 on the accessibility index.

The poor traffic congestion score of 63.30% makes it the second-worst out of all 16 World Cup stadiums, and it only narrowly beats MetLife Stadium for the average distance driven in 15 minutes (3.3 miles). If you add in the fact that it’s also got an incredibly low transit score of 12, it’s comfortably the worst in this category.

Despite having the lowest standard parking fee of $12, it’s not enough to take it out of the bottom three.

#4 – AT&T Stadium

The highest capacity stadium at the World Cup with 94,000 seats, AT&T Stadium in Dallas is the fourth worst-connected stadium for fans – achieving a final score of 44.15.

This location stands out in a few aspects as it’s the second worst in three separate metrics: the distance from the city center (19 miles), distance from the airport (19.5 miles), and the typical cost of parking ($117).

This comfortably positions it in the bottom four and highlights it as one of the most difficult World Cup stadiums for fans to access.

#5 – Estadio Azteca

The second Mexican stadium on this list completes the five least-accessible stadiums – Estadio Azteca in Mexico City – with a score of 48.83.

It is by far the poorest stadium for traffic, with its traffic congestion standing at 75.90%. This, in turn, leads to it having a poor average driving distance over 15 minutes (2.7 miles), making travel here a very difficult (or at least lengthy) process.

The Best-Connected NFL Stadiums

Now, let’s take a look into the NFL stadiums ahead of the 2026/27 season that begins in September.

#1 – EverBank Stadium

Topping the rankings as the best-connected NFL stadium is EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida – scoring 78.88 in the accessibility index.

This is no surprise, as – out of all stadiums analyzed – drivers can travel the second-furthest distance in 15 minutes (8.7 miles) and it has a higher transit score of 78. This means that traveling the 13.6 miles from the airport can be done with relative ease.

Though not placing first in any particular metric, EverBank Stadium’s strong overall scores help to position it as the most accessible NFL stadium for fans.

#2 – Huntington Bank Field

Finishing as the next best NFL stadium is Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, ending with a score of 78.57 – narrowly behind EverBank Stadium.

Ranking as the second-best stadium regarding distance from the city center (0.5 miles), the third-best stadium for traffic congestion (21%), and the joint third-best stadium for the average distance driven in 15 minutes (eight miles), it has great scores across the board. With multiple strengths like these, it justifies its position so high up the rankings.

#3 – Paycor Stadium

The podium position here is then completed by Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, which received an accessibility score of 77.24.

As it’s only 0.8 miles from the city center, it places as the fourth closest to a city’s hub, and scores strongly in the average distance driven in 15 minutes (eight miles). Despite it having a slightly raised parking price of $56, this doesn’t affect its ranking drastically.

Like the first two stadiums, after showing some strong overall scores in various metrics, Paycor Stadium ranks as one of the best for fans attending games in the NFL.

#4 – Bank of America Stadium

Then achieving a fourth-place finish is Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, which ended with a score of 73.88.

This comes as a result of it being only 6.2 miles from the airport (the third closest) and a cheap typical cost of parking of only $40. The only real reason it slips down the list a little is due to its slightly higher traffic congestion score of 34.80%, preventing it from displacing any of the already listed venues.

#5 – U.S. Bank Stadium

Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. Bank Stadium completes the top five after receiving an accessibility score of 72.82.

This particular stadium certainly deserves a mention in the top five, with it only being 0.4 miles away from the city center – making it the closest and most ideal stadium for fans to reach from the heart of the city. If we also take into account that it has a below-average traffic congestion of 28.30% and drivers can travel 7.3 miles in 15 minutes, fifth place is a fitting position.

The Worst-Connected NFL Stadiums

Since we’ve now had a look at the easiest stadiums to reach in the NFL, let’s now move on to the worst-connected NFL stadiums:

#1 – SoFi Stadium

Topping the list for the most difficult NFL stadiums for fans to access is SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Los Angeles, which ended up with a score of 32.62.

This doesn’t come as a surprise, though, as it has the worst traffic congestion percentage – sitting at 59.80%. Considering it also has a sky-high standard parking cost of $160, then it’s no surprise it ranks with such a low score.

#2 – MetLife Stadium

Coming in as the second least-connected stadium in the NFL is MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which received an accessibility score of 34.44.

With the second-highest traffic congestion percentage of 48.80% and a shockingly low distance traveled in 15 minutes on average (three miles), travel by car is likely to be extremely slow. And, with a transit score of 40 (the fourth worst), public transport isn’t likely to be much better either.

These stats alone make it a poorly accessible stadium for fans but combining it with below-average metrics across the board positions it as the second hardest stadium for fans to access.

#3 – Northwest Stadium

Completing the top three least-accessible stadiums in the NFL is Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, which scored 41.10.

Located the furthest away from an airport (26.7 miles), this is the hardest stadium in the NFL to reach after a flight. With it also having a transit score of just 32, it ranks as having the third-worst public transport system of all stadiums.

Topping both stats off with an average driving distance over 15 minutes being 4.8 miles means that it solidifies its place as the third least-connected stadium in the NFL.

#4 – AT&T Stadium

Finishing in fourth here is AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, with a score of 44.15 in the accessibility rankings.

Considering that it’s the second-furthest stadium in the NFL from a city center – being 19 miles away – and has the second-highest average parking cost ($117), it’s evidently a tough stadium to reach regardless of how you travel.

With barriers being presented across multiple different modes of transport, it more than deserves its position as the fourth least-connected stadium in the NFL.

#5 – Gillette Stadium

Completing our top five least-connected stadiums in the NFL is Gillette Stadium, which received a score of 48.83 in the index. While it has a reasonable parking price of $50 and is located just 2.5 miles from the nearest airport, it falls short in multiple other areas.

Gillette Stadium is the furthest away from a city center as it sits 28.1 miles away, has an average of 4.5 miles driven over a period of 15 minutes, and has a lower transit score of 44, firmly positioning it towards the bottom end of this list.

How to access your closest stadium and stay in touch with the action

If you’re planning on visiting any of these locations and are wondering how to access the closest stadium to you, then we have a few tips.

Whether it’s Hard Rock Stadium, EverBank Stadium, or any of the others you plan on visiting, it’s always best to plan ahead. Ensure that you know the exact location and distance from your accommodation so that you can map out your journey effectively.

Another thing of note is that if you want to drive, ensure that you’ve booked your parking. With these venues drawing masses of crowds and attention, booking parking is a necessity to ensure that you have a space when you arrive. This also means that arriving at the stadium early will be beneficial as you can beat the traffic and have a much smoother arrival experience.

Finally, make sure that you check what each individual stadium’s policies are for allowed and restricted items so that you have no issues when entering.

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Methodology

This study ranks the most-connected 2026 World Cup and NFL stadiums in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico based on how easy they are to access from downtown and the closest airport.

To do so, the following factors were taken into account:

• Distance from downtown (in miles) – Google Maps
• Distance from the closest airport (in miles) – Google Maps
• Transit Score – Walkscore.com
• Traffic Congestion – TomTom.com
• Average distance driven in 15 minutes (in miles) – TomTom.com
• Cost of stadium parking – Stadium official booking platforms and secondary research on June 1, 2026.
• Airport congestion (number of annual passengers in closest airport) – Bureau of Transportation and Statistics, and secondary sources.

Once collected, each metric was normalized to ensure fair comparison across stadiums. Each value was converted into a score between 0 and 1, where higher scores represent a better connectivity/accessibility for fans. The normalized scores were then combined to produce an overall stadium accessibility index score. Data is accurate as of June 1, 2026.