NEW YORK — World Cup fans in New York will be able to see games in free fan zones, organisers and city officials announced on Tuesday amid worries about the sky-high cost of watching this premier sporting event.
New York is among the host cities for the World Cup, which is being shared by the United States, Mexico and Canada starting June 11.
Fans expressed outrage last week when it was announced that round-trip train tickets to MetLife Stadium, which will host eight games including the tournament final, will cost $150, compared to $12.90 normally.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he is trying to make the World Cup more affordable for New Yorkers, AFP reported.
So, each of the city’s five boroughs will have a free-of-charge fan zone for people to watch games live, enjoy local food offerings and cultural events.
“These events were not initially set to be free, but the world’s game should belong to the world,” the mayor said at a news conference.
“So we made the decision together for fans to be able to watch together without having to spend a dollar,” Mamdani added.
The local transport company New Jersey Transit has defended the short $150 rides to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey by saying it will cost nearly $50 million to run trains to that 78,000-seat venue.
Asked about this, Mamdani complained that city authorities are being forced to foot transportation costs even as the tournament is forecast to bring in $11 billion in revenue for FIFA.
This is the amount that the football’s world governing body FIFA projects to take in revenue from this tournament.
New Jersey’s recently sworn-in Governor Mikie Sherrill had pushed for FIFA to assume the cost of getting fans to MetLife Stadium.
But FIFA has balked and insists any money it takes in goes to financing the national federations that comprise it and other tournaments.
The deal between FIFA and the previous New Jersey leadership also eliminated parking at the stadium, requiring the rail service to transport four times as many fans as it usually does, Sherrill has said.
FIFA, which is already facing severe criticism over the sky-high cost of many match tickets called New Jersey’s move “unprecedented.”
Each of the five New York boroughs will have a fan zone for watching live games.
In Manhattan it will be at iconic Rockefeller Centre, known for its Christmas tree and skating rink during the winter holidays.
In most US cities hosting World Cup games the fan zones will be free of charge, except in Los Angeles.
New York and New Jersey say they are expecting a million visitors for the World Cup and more than $3 billion in revenue.
