At the beginning of April, I was flown down to Dallas, Texas, for three days to meet the FIFA team and scope out AT&T Stadium to test the projected art we’re doing. This was just a few days after I came back from my vacation in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic during spring break.
This FIFA trip to Dallas is all very top-secret at this point, but it was a great feeling to meet the team in person. I was initially a little concerned about the TSA and ICE situation in the U.S., but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Dallas has actually been ranked as the number one airport in all of North America for four years straight! It was no surprise, then, that I cruised right through security and checkpoints within 5–10 minutes. Going through Toronto was actually more of an effort, and the lineups were long.
My connecting flight back to Vancouver through Denver, Colorado, was also a breeze. In Dallas, I stayed at Live! by Loews, just a short 3–5 minute walk to the other Loews hotel where most of the FIFA team were staying. We spent one full, solid day at the stadium doing tests and discussing ideas for the tournament. We basically worked from 8:55 am to 7:00 pm. I also got to meet the Velvet team from Munich, Germany, whom I worked closely with during the Club World Cup last summer.
Getting there was a long journey. My flight was at 9:30 am to Toronto (the flight was only 3 hours and 24 minutes—crazy fast!) and then on to Dallas. I didn’t get to my hotel until 11:00 pm. A 12-hour trip in total. I remember our plane in Dallas took 45 minutes to an hour to dock, and then my Uber ride from the airport to the hotel took about 40 minutes. I was completely spent by the time I got to the hotel. I ended up ordering room service for a pizza ($36 USD).
Looking forward to be back in late June for almost a month but this time, I’ll be bringing my entire family. Summer in Dallas!
