World Cup fans will have to pay $150 for the 36-mile (58-kilometer) round-trip rail ride between New York and Meadowlands Stadium, which will host eight events, including the final, local officials announced Friday.
Only 40,000 train tickets will be available for each of the games to be played at the New Jersey sports facility, with a return rail ride costing around $12.90, authorities said during a briefing.
“We are going to charge $150 for our round-trip ticket on our system. So from New York to MetLife, and MetLife back to New York,” said Kris Kolluri, the president and CEO of NJ Transit, using another name for the stadium.
Following news in The Athletic of intentions to charge World Cup supporters significantly more than average fares, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill criticized FIFA for the price increases.
She cited a $48 million charge that the state must pay to protect the safety of people attending the eight MetLife Stadium games.
“I won’t stick New Jersey commuters for that tab for years to come; that’s not fair,” Sherrill wrote on social media, adding that FIFA stood to make $11 billion at the World Cup.
“So here’s the bottom line: FIFA should pay for the rides, but if they don’t, I’m not going to let New Jersey commuters get taken for one.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer shared this sentiment, writing on social media on Tuesday that FIFA should cover the cost of transportation to World Cup locations.
FIFA, which is already under fire for the exorbitant cost of many match tickets, issued a strongly worded statement condemning the transportation price increase.
According to FIFA, the original host city agreements “required free transportation for fans to all matches.”
Fans attending the 2022 World Cup in Qatar could use the Doha Metro for free with their matchday ticket.
A renegotiation stipulated that transportation would be provided “at cost” on match days, FIFA added.
“We are quite surprised by the NJ governor’s approach to fan transportation,” FIFA said.
“The FIFA World Cup will bring millions of fans to North America along with the related economic impact.”
It added, “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.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul was another to take aim at the reported price hike.
“Charging over $100 for a short train ride sounds awfully high to me,” Hochul wrote on X.
According to local media sources, the US federal government has provided approximately $100 million to host cities for transit network costs, including $8.7 million for Boston and Massachusetts and $10.4 million for the New York-New Jersey area.
