Typically, soccer is a low-scoring game, but there’s nothing low when it comes to World Cup prices in the U.S. That now looks to include public transportation to the games, with at least two cities raising prices compared to gameday transit for other sports.
And not just by a little.
NJ Transit announced on Friday a more than 1,000% fare increase from New York City’s Penn Station to the Meadowlands for games. It will now cost riders $150 on game day.
“We’re trying to recover the cost of $48 million that it’s going to cost by charging $150 a ticket period,” Kris Kolluri, NJ Transit President and CEO, told WABC.
According to NorthJersey.com, non-World Cup riders won’t have access to Jersey-bound trains from Penn Station four hours before the games kick off for security reasons.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has announced a 357% increase for a round-trip train ticket between Boston and Foxborough. That $80 ride is also 300% higher than the typical price for a New England Patriots game.
The decision to hold World Cup matches in America was made in 2018, so why is this issue coming up now?
While soccer is one of the most simplistic sports in the world to understand, the answer to that question is not.
FIFA agreement
There are many reasons soccer is the most popular sport in the world, including the fact that it’s one of the most inexpensive sports to participate in.
Meanwhile, FIFA, which governs international soccer, is set to make $11 billion from this tournament.
“Yet is nickel and diming host cities left and right,” Victor Matheson, professor of economics at the College of Holy Cross in Massachusetts, told Straight Arrow News. “Assuming that host cities should have to pay for security, host cities should have to pay for transportation.”
FIFA told SAN that the host cities agreed to that deal during negotiations.
“The original FIFA World Cup 2026 Host City Agreements signed in 2018 required free transportation for fans to all matches,” a FIFA spokesperson told SAN. “Recognizing the financial strain this placed on the host cities, back in 2023, FIFA adjusted the Host Agreement requirements across all host cities as follows: All Match Ticket holders and accredited individuals shall be able to access transport (public or additionally planned transport) at cost to allow travel to Stadiums on match days.”
That transportation cost to NJ Transit will run up a tab of roughly $48 million.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill is not happy with that, especially considering what FIFA is bringing in.
“I’m not going to stick New Jersey commuters with that tab for years to come,” she wrote on X. “FIFA should pay for the rides.”
FIFA said that this is a typical way things are done.
“FIFA is not aware of any other major event previously held at NYNJ Stadium, including other major sports, global concert tours, etc., where organizers were required to pay for fan transportation,” their spokesperson told SAN.
Matheson agreed.
“The NFL did exactly the same thing when the Super Bowl was hosted at MetLife, it does the same thing to host communities all the time,” he said. “Major League Baseball does the same thing with the All-Star Game.”
Why no pushback?
Sherrill added that she inherited this deal, which is true. These decisions were made six years ago.
“These types of outcomes should have been prevented or avoided when the decision was made to apply for the FIFA World Cup many years ago,” Yonah Freemark, researcher at the Urban Institute, told SAN. “It should have been a discussion among the host cities and their transit agencies and the host states, because the fact that these outcomes are being decided just months before these events are supposed to occur is pretty disappointing.”
Why didn’t most of the host cities push back at the time?
“I have no idea,” Freemark said.
The one city that did fight back a little was Foxborough, but that was mostly just on security costs.
Only last month did the town of about 20,000 people officially agree to host World Cup matches. The town wanted assurance that someone else was footing the $8 million security bill.
“It’s a little embarrassing that a tiny municipal township in Massachusetts seems to be able to negotiate better than the city government of the largest city in the United States,” Matheson said.
But even that outcome didn’t put any extra bill in FIFA’s mailbox.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, whose net worth is roughly $14 billion, agreed to cover those costs.
“I think this really speaks to the failure of negotiation by these states and these cities with FIFA when this choice was originally made,” Freemark said. “It’s disappointing.”
What can cities do?
At the end of the day, someone must pay the transportation bill, and it clearly is not going to be FIFA. So, who’s going to pay?
“There’s a ton of ways to do this,” Matheson said. “You can raise sales taxes. You can charge additional sums of money for hotels during this time period. You can raise income taxes. But, in the big picture, the money has to come from somewhere.”
Sherrill has said she won’t allow her constituents to pay the bill, which is where that massive fare increase comes in.
“The people who are using the services that are going to be required because of the World Cup, you’re going to place that bill on them,” Matheson said. “And in many ways, that’s a fair way to do things, right?”
What are other cities doing?
While Foxborough and Boston have similar plans, other American host cities are doing things differently.
“Why is it that NJ Transit believes it can only provide this service for $100, but transit agencies in Philadelphia and in Houston are allowing people to use the transit systems for the same price?” Freemark said.
The rail system in Philadelphia is known as SEPTA. Spokesperson Andrew Busch told The Philadelphia Inquirer that they’ll have extra trains going to and from the sports complex, but no price hikes.
“We’re having regular service hours and open stations,” Busch said.
The Houston Metro Board Chair also announced there would be fair increases as they focus on affordability and accessibility.
“While we are thrilled to support hosting the World Cup, Metro’s system is built to serve everyone, every day, and that remains our focus as we proudly welcome the world to Houston,” Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock told The Houston Chronicle.
In other cities, Miami’s privately owned Brightline already has dynamic pricing, meaning fares change depending on numerous factors like time of day, availability, date and more.
Other major cities like Los Angeles and Atlanta have not made any major announcements when it comes to World Cup travel, except for some service expansion and an overall readiness plan.
LA will also be using its train system and a park and ride system with no added fares for the games.
“What are these other agencies doing differently?” Freemark said.
Parking
While many of these other cities are not increasing fares like NJ Transit, many have encouraged fans to use public transportation because parking restrictions are often fairly strict for security reasons.
There is no parking at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Spots will be very limited around Sofi Stadium, with most lots directly outside being designated security zones, and the available parking further out will be very pricey.
“Even for the wealthy, the train is often the best route in and out of these sort of things, because it can be very difficult to drive in, or to even take private transportation in,” Matheson said. “Mass transit during big events is one of these great levelers.”