World Cup 2026
- Thread starter EganSoccerWords
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twsj91
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Shhh don’t give away my secret! Lol
I just read something similar in the original article on the Athletic.
This is some kind of bullshit.
It shows that the decision to jack up these prices is completely on New Jersey. FIFA did not set these prices, and it did not demand some ridiculous subsidy from New Jersey.
Yes, New Jersey has some security and other costs in connection with this event. This is the same with everyone else and with every event that New Jersey hosts. Did they jack up train prices when hosting the Super Bowl a few years back? No, they did not.
Revfugee
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I may be one of those people who rode the updraft in the US economy to the frequent flier edge of lux class. And I’ve grown used to developing strategies to deal with crowds (mostly by avoiding them). But in 1994 I had very little disposable income and I prioritized WC tix. In retrospect they may have been underpriced on the primary market, and the secondary market was far less efficient than now (money orders! Meeting sellers on the street!) but back then it seemed worth both the expense and the effort. This year it seems worth neither, and worse, my then as-yet-unborn nieces and nephews, with whom I wished one day to attend a WC match, have no interest, never mind the funds.Yes, absolutely. I don't know the extent to which this explains it but it is a major factor.
More specifically, the upper middle class and modestly wealthy strata have both grown massively in the last few decades. The true median range middle class has been hollowed out, but mostly by people moving up not down.
This is why airport lounges are packed, the most frequent fliers can't get upgrades, and why golf, skiing and amusement resorts such as Disney are simultaneously more expensive than 30-40 years ago, yet more crowded and generally a worse experience. Real estate in the most desirable neighborhoods in and around every US city is much more expensive because the number of households earning $150k to $500k is so much larger today than the number making the inflation adjusted equivalent in the 80s and 90s or earlier.
This phenomenon is also largely confined to the US. The wealth divergence between here and Europe has exploded in that same time frame, to the point where even true median wealth in the US is equal to or sometimes higher than the professional class over there, even accounting for subsidized healthcare and higher education (the latter of which is open to many fewer people in Europe than here).
If anyone doubts this, it is very easy to confirm. A 5 second DDG search turned up this article from a week ago. There's lots of data and sources on this. This specifically references 1979 rather than 1994, but the change has been ongoing the whole time.
The upper middle class is now the largest income group in the U.S., study finds
America's middle class is shrinking, but not because people are getting poorer. Instead, more households are climbing the ladder, new research suggests.www.cbsnews.com
Side note: FIFA’s tailgating ban has drained this World Cup of one of the truly excellent America traditions: supporters from both sides showing and proving peacefully for their teams in the park sign lotover copious foodstuffs (and alcohol). Visiting fans will be robbed of participation in one of our more admirable traditions. Now the parking lots will just be baking concrete moats rather than bubbling American culture patches. Sad.
Shouldn't FIFA be providing some subsidies for the extra commuting services? Not only are they charging more for these train rides to the stadium, but they are only permitting ticket holders to ride those trains. With as much money as FIFA is making, they should be subsidizing some of that cost. All of this should have been dealt with and agreed upon years ago, not 2 months out.
I saw that bus tickets to Gillette from downtown Boston will $95. So, this is not a NJ only issue.
Let me tell you something about FIFA:
They are only about the money. Especially when that money is going into the leadership's pockets.
I am well aware. Just saying, I don't think we can blame NJ or MA/Boston for setting the high transportation ticket prices when FIFA aren't spending a penny to help.
FIFA is crazy corrupt but nothing will change until federations around the world demand it.
edit:
Can't remember if this was already stated but just saw that there will also be NO PARKING at metlife for the world cup either. So no tailgating, no parking, crazy train ticket prices from NYC... how the hell does FIFA expect people to get there?
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I guess what I don't understand is why NJ would expect Fifa to subsidize it when they don't expect the same for every NFL game where they transport the same number of people to the same stadium?
Also, even just setting aside the whop should pay argument, if the trip normally costs $12.50, why does it cost nearly $90 for people to take the same trip on the same trains for a WC game?
It wouldn't be the same number of people. NFL games at metlife probably have a considerable amount of car traffic vs public trans. Here, FIFA is basically saying, take public transit or rideshare. That will put a lot more stress on the system. At least one of the games is during the evening commute as well, which wouldn't happen for an NFL game.
As I said earlier, this should have all been settled years ago. There should be no surprises. For them to come out now with these surprise prices and restrictions just screams unorganized chaos and is evidence that FIFA has not worked well with the local communities that are hosting games.
ZYanksRule
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I believe the standard operating procedure is that if overtime/extra work is requested by a sporting event, that organization pays for it. Apparently the Yankees don't pay for the extra metro north trains, but they do pay the police overtime costs.
Presumably FIFA is refusing to pay these costs, which is why it's being passed on to the ticket-buyers. It's pretty gross.
Do sporting events typically help subsidize these? Like the Olympics, previous world cups, other major sporting events?
I'm just asking because I don't understand why this should be fifa's problem and not the host country's problem. (Unless the no parking thing is fifa-sanctioned, then nvm bc they're essentially forcing the traffic volumes via other infrastructure)
FIFY
