New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill bashed the “inherited” World Cup host agreement in which FIFA is absolved of paying for transportation to the matches at MetLife Stadium — and insisted she won’t stand for its planned price gouging.
NJ Transit plans to raise prices to a staggering $100 for fans traveling from New York Penn Station to MetLife Stadium for the eight FIFA World Cup games hosted at the Garden State arena.
The average ticket goes for $12.90, marking an egregious 775% premium for all.
While the rumored hike has “not been finalized,” according to a NJT spokesperson, locals are already fuming — Sherrill included.
Sherrill, who entered office at the beginning of this year, fumed that her “administration inherited an agreement where FIFA is providing zero dollars for transportation” to and from the World Cup.
She surmised that the hullabaloo will bury NJT under “a $48 million bill” as they are tasked with carting upwards of 40,000 fans to and from the stadium.
At the same time, the haughty honchos at FIFA are set to make an estimated $11 billion off the Cup, so covering the transportation bill would only eat up an estimated .4% of their entire revenue.
“I won’t stick New Jersey commuters with that tab for years to come. That’s not fair. So here’s the bottom line, FIFA should pay for the rides, but if they don’t, I’m not gonna let New Jersey commuters get taken for one,” Sherrill said.
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer also criticized FIFA for “[handing] the bill” to the public.
“The least FIFA can do is ensure New York residents can go to the stadium without being gouged at the turnstile. I am demanding FIFA step up and cover transportation costs for host cities and states. New York commuters and residents should not subsidize an $11 billion windfall,” Schumer wrote on X.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul boasted that prices won’t be inflated on the MTA, though she appeared to forget that not one MTA train or bus travels to the East Rutherford stadium.
Parking passes on the stadium grounds are also going for $225 apiece. The American Dream entertainment complex said that it partnered with FIFA to sell a “limited” amount of general parking in its section of the MetLife lot.
Even if the price point is resolved, New Jersey-bound commuters will still be barred from the NJ Transit portion of Penn Station during select times on game days — with six out of eight shutout hours falling during rush hour.
Fans in other host cities aren’t faring any better. Those attending matches at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts face $95 tickets on the buses operated by Yankee Line.
FIFA, though, likely won’t budge, since it hasn’t historically funded local transportation to any World Cup match.
In early March, the Trump administration announced that it would funnel $100.3 million “to enhance public transportation” in the host cities ahead of the Cup.
The funds are supposed to “support planning, capital, and operating expenses” for the matches and other related events in host cities.
It’s not immediately clear how much was appropriated to New Jersey, or how the funds were divvied up.
The World Cup has only been hosted in the US once before.
The 1994 World Cup was split between arenas in Washington DC, Boston, Orlando, Chicago, Dallas, East Rutherford, Detroit, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Anywhere from four to eight matches were played at each arena. Seven took place at MetLife Stadium.
The cup was marred by unseasonably high temperatures that tormented fans and players alike. The heat inside the Pontiac Silverdome was so oppressive that some informally dubbed it the “sauna-dome,” as reported by The Independent at the time.
