World Cup fans will have to pay $150 for the 36-mile (58-km) round-trip train trip between New York and Meadowlands Stadium when it hosts eight matches, including the final, local officials said Friday.
Just 40,000 train tickets will be available for each of the games to be played at the New Jersey sports complex, a return rail trip to which is typically just $12.90, officials said at a briefing.
“We are going to charge $150 for our round-trip ticket on our system. So from New York to MetLife, MetLife back to New York,” said Kris Kolluri, the president and CEO of NJ Transit, using another name for the stadium.
After reports first emerged in The Athletic of the plans to charge World Cup fans far in excess of normal fares, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill blamed FIFA for the price hikes.
She pointed to a $48 million bill the state faces to ensure the safety of fans going to the eight games at the MetLife Stadium.
“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.”
– ‘Quite surprised’ –
That sentiment was echoed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who wrote on social media on Tuesday that FIFA should foot the bill for transport costs to World Cup venues.
FIFA, which is already facing severe criticism over the sky-high cost of many match ticket prices, issued a strongly worded statement criticising the transport price hike.
FIFA said that the original host city agreements “required free transportation for fans to all matches”.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, fans could use the Doha Metro for free with their matchday tickets.
A re-negotiation stipulated that transport would be offered “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 organisers 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.
Some $100 million in US federal funding has been allocated 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, according to local media reports.
AFP
