Soccer Tejas
| Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... |
HOUSTON, TEXAS (March 17, 2026) – The FIFA World Cup 2026™ Houston Host Committee is proud to advance the Green Corridor, an initiative to highlight resilience and sustainable transit across the 14-mile loop connecting FIFA World Cup 2026™ venues. The Green Corridor concept, which originated in 2024 with the Sustainability Subcommittee led by Elizabeth Carlson, unifies under one name the connected network of public transit routes, hike-and-bike trails and public spaces that link key areas in Houston and FIFA World Cup 2026™ venues: FIFA Fan Festival™ in East Downtown and Houston Stadium. The corridor includes METRORail lines and the Columbia Tap Trail along with destinations across East Downtown, Downtown, Midtown, the Museum District and Third Ward. It provides an example of how Houston’s transportation and infrastructure can support large-scale global events sustainably while still serving everyday community needs. Moreover, it results in a seamless, accessible experience for out-of-town visitors and local residents alike, while showing how Houston always comes together for the greater good.
The Green Corridor initiative includes improvements tied to resilience and innovation, focused on areas around key METRO stops and the Columbia Tap Trail. These improvements are implemented in collaboration with local stakeholders and include measures like:
- Shade and innovation demonstrations
- Native planting
- Expanded tree canopy
- Air quality monitoring
- Water and bike repair stations
The first improvements started at the end of 2025, including tree planting, a pollinator garden, and a new air quality monitoring project. Activities have continued in 2026, with work progressing along 46 native planting areas, additional trees, and initial development of a mobile application. Innovation projects are advancing in design and fabrication. These activities will continue through the FIFA World Cup 2026™ this summer.
The efforts are undertaken in collaboration with government agencies and organizations such as:
- Air Alliance Houston
- Friends of Columbia Tap Trail
- Hermann Park Conservancy
- Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC)
- Trees for Houston
- Rice University
- University of Houston’s Energy Transition Institute and Center for Ecological Resilience, among others.
A central theme of the Green Corridor is education and engagement. To bring these sustainability efforts to life, the initiative will introduce an interactive map highlighting key sites, stories, and amenities along the corridor, to be published in the spring, along with places visitors and residents can experience existing sustainable infrastructure like:
- Brays Bayou
- The Columbia Tap Trail
- Discovery Green
- Hermann Park
- Midtown Park
- The Houston Zoo
- The Ion District and Greentown Labs
- Main Street Promenade in Downtown Houston
Along with the map, the Corridor includes educational moments such as signage, public art, and other interactive activities. Together, these elements will provide visitors and residents with opportunities to learn about resilience, innovation, and sustainable transportation while experiencing Houston’s neighborhoods in new and meaningful ways. The official map of attractions and features is slated to be released in April 2026, just in time for locals and visitors experiencing the FIFA World Cup in Houston.
The Green Corridor is just one of the many examples of the collaborative efforts between the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Houston Host Committee and the Harris County–Houston Sports Authority Foundation’s larger legacy initiative, Impact Houston 26. Impact Houston 26 is committed to ensuring that FIFA World Cup 2026™ delivers meaningful, lasting benefits to the region through its three core pillars: Growing the Game, Defending Human Rights and Protecting the Environment. Current Impact Houston 26 Partners include: Airbnb, Aramco, Arca Continental Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, CenterPoint, Cheniere, Chevron, Citgo, City of Sugar Land, Houston Methodist, Lone Star Sports and Entertainment, NRG, Oxy, Quanta, Rice University, Shell, and Sysco. These companies’ contributions help fund portions of the Green Corridor’s additions and enhancements.
“The Green Corridor reflects what Impact Houston 26 is all about, using the FIFA World Cup™ as a catalyst to deliver lasting environmental benefits for our city,” said Elizabeth Carlson, Chair of the Sustainability Subcommittee for the FIFA World Cup™ Houston Host Committee. “Through Impact Houston’s pillar on sustainability, we’re able to collaborate with local stakeholders to create not just demonstrations of resilience and innovation but education and engagement in the community, a meaningful legacy long after 2026.”
A host of agencies across Houston are implementing projects that support the goals of the Green Corridor, including:
- Downtown Houston+’s Main Street Promenade improvements include four permanent shade structures, native plants, and expanding the tree canopy by 154% to be implemented by May 2026. Cool + Connected Corridors on Texas Avenue will add innovative shade structures, native plants and more
- East Downtown Management District is upgrading multiple public spaces in and around the FIFA Fan Festival site to improve first/last mile connectivity around the Green Corridor, beautification through native plantings and landscaping, and to enhance safety and shade in partnership with the East Downtown Redevelopment Authority and the City of Houston. These entities are also working with Texas Department of Transportation, the City of Houston, and the East Downtown Redevelopment Authority on tree planting improvements near the FIFA Fan Festival site.
- Houston-Galveston Area Council awarded a $7.5 million grant to make lighting and safety improvements along the Columbia Tap Trail, including the installation of 325 solar lights. The Greater Southeast Management District is overseeing the project, with the first phase to be completed in time for the FIFA World Cup
- METRO is implementing landscaping and refreshed plantings across Stadium Park/Astrodome and TMC/Dryden plus Fannin South Transit Center, along with systemwide cleaning, shading and safety enhancements
- Midtown Houston has planned over $1.5 million in landscaping and beautification along the Red Line in their district including over 80 trees, native plantings, water stations, waste receptacles, crosswalk improvements, and public art installations
Downtown Houston+ President & CEO Kristopher Larson says that “Downtown Houston+ initiatives that align with the Green Corridor’s goals help tell a broader story about how Houston is evolving its public spaces: investing in comfort as essential infrastructure; adapting streets to a changing climate; strengthening connections between districts; and shifting from destinations-focused planning to improving the experiences between.”
About the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Houston Host Committee
The Houston World Cup Host Committee, operating under the Sports Authority Foundation, collaborates with FIFA, the City of Houston, Harris County, and community stakeholders to ensure a world-class experience for players, fans, and visitors surrounding FIFA World Cup 2026™. Alongside stakeholders, the Host Committee oversees operations, safety, transportation and logistics for the seven FIFA World Cup 2026™ matches to take place at NRG Stadium and the open-to-the-public FIFA Fan Festival™ to be held in East Downtown Houston during the length of the tournament. A core tenet of the Host Committee is a commitment to leaving a lasting legacy in Houston beyond the tournament via initiatives that advance human rights, sustainability, and the growth of soccer.
About the Harris County–Houston Sports Authority and Sports Authority Foundation
The Harris County–Houston Sports Authority (HCHSA), founded in 1997, is responsible for servicing the debt of the world-class sports facilities it was created to build and ensuring their long-term sustainability. In support of this core mission, HCHSA leads the charge in attracting major sporting events to Houston and promoting our region as a home for all sports-related activities. This ultimately results in enhancing our economic development, improving the quality of life for our residents, and reinforcing Houston and Harris County as a premier destination for marquee sporting events. Its 501(c)(3) arm, the Sports Authority Foundation, manages the community engagement and legacy programs tied to major events, including FIFA World Cup 26™ in Houston, through Impact Houston 26.
About Impact Houston 26
Impact Houston 26 is a bold legacy program launched by the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Houston Host Committee in collaboration with the Sports Authority Foundation, designed to ensure that Houston’s role as a host city for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ creates meaningful, long-lasting benefits for the region. Operating under the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority’s Sports Authority Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to community-focused and charitable sports initiatives, Impact Houston 26 will guide and manage legacy programs that extend well beyond the tournament. Guided by three core pillars; Growing the Game, Defending Human Rights, and Protecting the Environment, the initiative aims to elevate the quality of life across the Greater Houston area and serve as a model for future World Cup host cities. Legacy efforts include (but are not limited to) field development, youth soccer programming, soccer clinics and tournaments, coach and referee development, sustainability efforts, human rights programs and community arts initiatives. Funding is supported by Impact Houston 26 Partners, who are committed to building a meaningful legacy impact anchored in sport, community and opportunity. Current Partners include: Airbnb, Aramco, Arca Continental Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, CenterPoint, Cheniere, Chevron, Citgo, City of Sugar Land, Houston Methodist, Lone Star Sports and Entertainment, NRG, Oxy, Quanta, Rice University, Shell, and Sysco.
