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This summer, New Jersey and New York will host eight matches for the World Cup, including the tournament's final game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, marking the event's return to the region after 32 years. The event is projected to attract more than 1 million visitors to both states, generate $3.3 billion for the local economy and support more than 26,000 jobs, according to an economic impact summary published by the host committee. But as the tournament draws closer, New Jersey and FIFA, soccer's global governing body, are clashing over costs, raising concerns about the tournament's financial impact on the state.
The question isn't whether New Jersey can successfully host the World Cup, but whether the cost will be worth it in the end. Economic activity numbers are way bloated and overstated. They're done by consultants trying to win the bid process. So usually economists after the fact do these studies and measure true benefits and costs. And at the end of the day, it's usually much more costly to host a FIFA World Cup, than to have it. For now, here's what we know: transportation is at the center of the debate.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said New Jersey transit could spend at least $48 million to support the increased ridership and cover a massive transportation operation, involving expanded rail services, shuttles, traffic management, public messaging efforts and coordination of multiple transit agencies to move as many as 40,000 fans per match. They need to run trains on random Tuesdays and Thursday nights in that direction that they might otherwise not, because they didn't have demands, there before that. They have to have more train conductors, a lot more security because it's an international event. In addition, they're fixing potholes on the road, they're putting up barriers and construction for
traffic. All of those costs money, and of course, there's overtime for police and all of that. And that goes into part of the cost for New Jersey transit. Although $48 million is a relatively small sum compared with New Jersey Transit's $3.16 billion operating budget for 2026, governor Mikie Sherrill has argued that it is not a burden New Jersey taxpayers should be asked to shoulder. Our administration inherited an agreement where FIFA is providing $0 for transportation to the World Cup zero. At the same time, FIFA is making $11 billion off of this World Cup and charging fans up to $10,000 for a single ticket for the final.
A spokesperson for the New Jersey governor's office said governor Sherrill is working to ensure that the cost of transporting fans does not fall on taxpayers and commuters, while also investing in initiatives that bring the economic and cultural benefits of the World Cup to communities across the state. FIFA did not respond to CNBC's request for comment. Governor Sherrill inherited this contract that Governor Murphy signed back in 2018, along with other cities in the U.S. for the World Cup. And in the 2018 contract, it actually said transportation should be $0. The reason FIFA had that in there is because they looked at more of the European model, which is very well connected by subways and trains and
all of the soccer stadiums are kind of right above them. That's not the case in U.S. cities. And it was pretty clear, even after the pandemic and in 2023, that this was not going to be cheap to transport 80,000 or 50,000 fans, depending on the stadium size. So back in 2023, FIFA said, okay, you could charge people something, but by the way, you're still not getting parking because that was part of the original contract. So, that's put a lot of strain on New Jersey transit to pick up all of the ridershare, as opposed to letting people park at the stadium like they would during normal football games. To offset those expenses, new Jersey transit initially announced that round trip tickets from New York City to MetLife Stadium would cost $150,
nearly 12 times the regular fare. Following public backlash and the securing of several sponsorship deals, the agency eventually lowered the fare to $98 in May. But transportation costs are only part of the financial picture. New Jersey has provided the World Cup Host Committee with $35 million to support local infrastructure and community initiatives, as well as approximately $120 million for other related costs, including construction and security. Several host cities, including those in new Jersey, also hosted matches during the 1994 World Cup, but one study found that those host cities underperformed economic forecasts by an average of $712 million during the tournament. And despite promises of major gains for local
businesses, 80% of hotels across the US said their bookings were tracking below initial forecasts ahead of the 2026 World Cup. A poll by Monmouth University in 2024 also found that 50% of New Jerseyans believe New York City will benefit more than the host state, while just 15% said New Jersey would see a greater economic boost than New York. New Jersey is absolutely taking the brunt of the cost over New York City. All of the games are played here. The stadiums are in new Jersey.
The operational costs, the police, the transportation are all happening in New Jersey, yet you might have fans staying in New York City for the night. This is all happening at a crucial moment for New Jersey, which has been grappling with fiscal pressures for years. The state is facing a $1.5 billion structural budgetary deficit, driven largely by the loss of federal Medicaid funding and the drying up of pandemic aid in the coming years. But for now, the games must go on.
