High-priced tickets won’t be the sole expense burdening soccer enthusiasts attending World Cup games at various U.S. venues this spring.
Individuals making their way from New York City to MetLife Stadium can anticipate paying $150 US for a round-trip train ticket for each match, transportation authorities confirmed on Friday.
This fare is almost 12 times the standard $12.90 fare for the approximately 15-minute, 14-kilometer journey from Manhattan’s Penn Station to the stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Given the limited on-site parking availability, it is foreseen that around 40,000 fans will opt for mass transit for each match, as per New Jersey officials.
As the venue for eight World Cup matches, including the final on July 19, which features group stage matches involving soccer powerhouses like Brazil, France, Germany, and England, the stadium home to both the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets is gearing up for the tournament’s commencement on June 13.
This isn’t price gouging. We’re literally trying to recoup our costs.– NJ Transit president/CEO Kris Kolluri
New Jersey officials justified the fare increase as necessary to cover the expenses associated with hosting the World Cup, marking its return to the U.S. after 1994.
NJ Transit authorities disclosed their plan to allocate $62 million for ferrying fans to and from the stadium throughout the tournament duration. Despite external grants covering only $14 million of the projected expenses, a fare adjustment was deemed imperative to offset the remaining costs, stated NJ Transit president and CEO Kris Kolluri.
“This isn’t price gouging,” he emphasized during a media briefing on Friday. “We’re simply aiming to recover our expenditures.”
Governor Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, urged FIFA, the international soccer governing body, to bear the transportation expenses.
“If they decline, we refuse to subsidize World Cup ticket holders at the expense of New Jersey residents reliant on NJ TRANSIT services daily,” she asserted in a released statement.
However, FIFA has pushed back against assuming New Jersey’s transit cost burden, pointing out that other U.S. host cities such as Los Angeles, Dallas, and Houston are maintaining their transit rates unchanged.
Steep Transit Costs in Boston
In Boston, an exception exists as express buses ferrying fans to Gillette Stadium, the home of the NFL’s New England Patriots, will charge $95, as announced by officials this week.
Subsequently, numerous fans have already secured $80 round-trip train tickets from Boston to the commuter rail station near the stadium, which is four times the usual $20 fare during game days and special events at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, located approximately 48 km from Boston.
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