The Extra Cost Beyond the Tickets

As the World Cup approaches, thousands of fans across the US and the world are planning trips to see their countries compete. Though the World Cup is known to be expensive, this year’s edition will be the most expensive in history. The average cost for a ticket to attend a game at MetLife Stadium is $2,790, with tickets for the final costing an average of $12,500. Though the average cost of a ticket across the tournament is significantly cheaper at $1,279, hundreds of thousands of fans will still have to pay upwards of a thousand dollars just to enter the stadium. Along with the tickets, domestic flights are around 30 percent more expensive, and hotels in New York City have increased their room costs in anticipation of demand. Additionally, fans, especially local ones in New York City, must consider one more additional cost: transportation.

Currently, most NFL fans who travel to NFL stadiums used during the World Cup, such as MetLife Stadium, use cars. However, FIFA has closed all MetLife parking lots for the World Cup due to safety concerns, and the nearby American Dream Mall is offering limited parking. Even if you get a spot, they come at a hefty price of $225, though it may change based on demand. This means most fans will use public transportation to head to MetLife from New York and northern New Jersey. 

On NFL gamedays, the round-trip cost of a ticket from Penn Station to Meadowlands, where MetLife Stadium is located, is $12.90. However, NJ Transit is expecting ridership to quadruple due to the parking constraints. They also expect to spend $48 million on transportation for the World Cup. Because of this, they decided to raise the fares, just like other cities have done, such as Boston. Initially, they planned to charge $150. However, after massive pushback and some additional investment, they decided to lower the price to $98. This is still over seven times more expensive than the current price. 

Alternatively, fans can also take a bus or shuttle service provided by New York State. The initially announced cost was also steep at $80. However, after more pushback from fans, Governor Kathy Hochul decided to pursue a cheaper option. The state decided to use yellow school buses instead, and the cost for the state decreased dramatically as a result of that decision. Now, fans will only have to pay $20, which is an improvement, but still more expensive than the normal train ride to MetLife. These buses, however, are much more popular among fans, with 15,700 bus tickets bought, 14,700 of which were bought after the cut in prices, compared to the 12,000 tickets sold for NJ Transit trains. 

These prices have come as a shock to locals and fans from across the world alike. In the two previous editions of the World Cup, 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar, transportation in cities was free. During the largest European tournament, UEFA Euro 2024, fans with valid match tickets were given free 36-hour access to the city’s public transportation. Additionally, the US, as a part of its 2018 host agreement, agreed to offer free transportation, but in 2023, they reversed that decision. 

This reversal and drastic increase in transportation fares is due to a multitude of reasons. In the US, fans prefer to use their own cars to get to the stadium and tailgate there, with public transportation being used by fans who are turned away by the normally high parking costs of NFL stadiums. Meanwhile, in Russia, all stadiums were linked to public transportation networks; in Qatar, all stadiums were linked by the Doha Metro, Lusail Tram, or FIFA shuttle buses; and in Germany, all the stadiums were linked by extensive transportation, varying from the U-Bahn (metro) to trams. However, NYC is not the only city to increase prices during these types of major events. Paris, during the 2024 Olympic Games, did something similar, almost doubling prices for their metro after promising to make them free. Still, NYC and New Jersey are increasing costs by a larger magnitude and breaking the recent tradition of World Cup hosts offering free transportation, which has put a stain on the fan experience. 

With these additional costs, many local NYC fans have been turned away from purchasing tickets, with many waiting for ticket prices to drop before buying tickets and transportation. Other fans, especially European fans who are used to walking to stadiums, plan to walk to the game. However, the NJ state police have banned people from walking on all of the turnpikes and highways that lead to the stadium. The only other option for fans is rideshare, with dedicated zones around the stadium, but platforms, such as Uber, are known to use surge charging to increase prices at in-demand events. 

While other cities, such as Boston/Foxborough and NYC, have raised prices and paid for FIFA fan festivals, cities like Philadelphia have decided not to raise fares and maintain their standard SEPTA fare of $2.90. However, New York City has attempted to make the fan experience more accessible to fans across the city. Officials recently announced five fan fests across the city, with one in each borough. These events, however, do not make up for these increased transit prices, which will cost fans hundreds of extra dollars that they wouldn’t have had to spend during other World Cups like the one in Qatar. Instead, it shows that the US, and specifically Meadowlands/MetLife, has a car-dependency issue, since the current infrastructure can’t handle the extra fans that will not be driving. 

NYC does not have these issues during major events at MSG or the US Open, where, though less than MetLife’s capacity, tens of thousands of fans are able to get to the games easily and for regular prices. This is because of the multiple transit options available to fans, including several subway lines and the LIRR, as well as NJ Transit and PATH trains. For MetLife, there is only one train line that goes there, and it originates from Secaucus, not NYC. This further increases inefficiency because of the bottleneck created when fans have to transfer at Secaucus. Even with millions of dollars in improvements funded by the NJ government, these issues for New Jersey’s main stadium will not go away until all of the rail infrastructure around MetLife is redone to accommodate these fans and decrease the amount of fans traveling. 

Another major reason for these issues is FIFA’s greed. FIFA is expected to generate a profit of $13 billion, but they are not willing to fund $48 million in budget shortfalls for NJ Transit that are causing these price increases. Additionally, part of the issue is fabricated by FIFA because of the closure of all of the parking spots at MetLife, which has increased demand by four times. Overall, FIFA must take better care of its host locations, especially the most important one, NYC, which is hosting the final. FIFA has the funding to assist in multiple ways and put fans first, but they are unfortunately actively refusing to do so, even after pleas from Mikie Sherrill, the governor of New Jersey.

Even with these issues, the start of the World Cup inches closer, and preparations are coming to an end. While many fans are hopeful for last-minute ticket deals to attend the games they have long waited for, many will have to weigh whether their fandom justifies the high prices.