World Cup attendees traveling to MetLife Stadium will incur $150 train fares, according to NJ Transit.
Exorbitant ticket prices are not the only financial burden for soccer enthusiasts attending World Cup matches at select U.S. venues this spring.
Supporters traveling to MetLife Stadium from New York City should anticipate spending $150 for a round-trip train ticket for each match, as confirmed by transportation officials on Friday.
This fare is nearly 12 times the standard $12.90 cost for the approximately 15-minute, 9-mile journey from Penn Station in Manhattan to the stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
On-site parking will be unavailable for most attendees, leading New Jersey officials to predict that around 40,000 fans will utilize mass transit for each match.
The home ground for both the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets is scheduled to host eight World Cup matches, including the tournament final on July 19. Group stage matches featuring soccer powerhouses such as Brazil, France, Germany, and England, along with other nations, will commence on June 13.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has indicated that the fare increase was essential to prevent her state’s commuters from facing a “tab for years to come” for hosting the World Cup, which returns to the U.S. for the first time since 1994.
NJ Transit officials stated that transporting fans to and from the stadium throughout the tournament would cost $62 million, with outside grants covering only $14 million of those projected expenses.
“This isn’t price gouging,” NJ Transit president and CEO Kris Kolluri told reporters on Friday. “We’re simply trying to recover our costs.”
Using public transit to attend World Cup matches in the suburbs of Boston will also incur significant costs.
Express buses from various locations to Gillette Stadium, home of the NFL’s New England Patriots, will be priced at $95, officials announced this week.
Additionally, thousands of fans have already purchased $80 round-trip train tickets from Boston to the commuter rail station near the stadium. This fare is four times the usual $20 charged for a round-trip ticket during game days and other special events. Unlike MetLife, Gillette is not a short distance from downtown, as the stadium is situated in Foxborough, approximately 30 miles south of Boston.
Other World Cup host cities, including Los Angeles and Philadelphia, have committed to maintaining their transit fares, highlighting that the U.S. government has allocated around $100 million in transit grants to host cities for improved bus and rail services.
Kansas City is operating shuttles from various locations around the city to Arrowhead Stadium, with a round-trip cost of just $15. It is also providing a free bus service from the airport to downtown. Houston, which is set to host seven World Cup matches, has added buses and train cars to accommodate fans but plans to keep fares at current levels: $1.25 for buses and light rail trains, with park-and-ride options ranging from $2 to $4.50.
However, New Jersey’s governor, a Democrat who assumed office in January, stated that her administration inherited an agreement where FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, contributed “$0 for transportation,” leaving the state’s chronically underfunded transit agency “stuck with a $48 million bill.”
“FIFA should cover the transportation costs. But if they don’t — I’m not going to allow New Jersey to bear the burden,” Sherrill remarked in a social media post on Wednesday.
FIFA has reacted negatively to this suggestion, pointing out that the agreements made with World Cup host cities in 2018 stipulated free transportation for fans to all matches. It also contended that no other major event held at MetLife has been required to finance fan transportation.
“We are quite surprised by the NJ Governor’s stance today regarding fan transportation,” the organization stated in a release on Thursday, as reports of the fare increase began to emerge. “FIFA collaborated for years with host cities on transportation and mobility plans, including advocating for millions of dollars in federal funding to assist host cities with transportation.”
The significant fare increase to MetLife also prompted a response from New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
“Charging over $100 for a short train ride seems excessively high to me,” the Democrat posted on X earlier this week.
The surge pricing was initially reported by the sports outlet The Athletic.
Alternatives to taking the train to the matches at MetLife Stadium will also be quite expensive. A limited number of parking spaces at the nearby American Dream Mall are being sold in advance, currently priced at $225.
