How the planner decides
Every result is built from published figures, not estimates. The METRORail Red Line is the spine: it stops at Stadium Park/Astrodome, a short walk from the gates, and ran every 6 to 12 minutes on World Cup matchdays at a $1.25 fare. From the airports, METRO Route 500 Downtown Direct connects IAH and Hobby to downtown for $4.50, roughly every 30 minutes between about 5 AM and 9 PM, where you transfer to the Red Line. Driving in from outside the core, the Fannin South Park & Ride is $25 with round-trip rail included, and the West Loop Transit Center offers free parking with a $2 connecting bus.
Driving all the way to NRG is the option the planner rarely recommends. Official World Cup match parking ran $98.99 to $174.99 per vehicle per match, the host committee said there would be fewer spaces than a normal Texans game, and the post-match lot exit adds 45 to 90 minutes on any sold-out night. The math almost always favors rail.
The heat note is the part visitors underestimate. Inside the stadium the roof stayed closed and the interior was held near 72°F, but 6 of the 7 Houston matches kicked off at noon, when the street outside runs near triple digits. The route you pick decides how much of that you stand in. The least-exposure path is almost always rail, because the train is air-conditioned and the Stadium Park/Astrodome walk is short.
The rest of the record sits in the Houston matchday hub, the full getting-around guide, and where to stay, which still ranks neighborhoods by Red Line access.