Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced that the planned World Cup Fan Fest at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will be free for all fans this summer.

The fan fest, which will take place at Louis Armstrong Stadium between June 11 and 27, was originally slated to cost $10 per visit.

However, Mamdani, along with the New York New Jersey Host Committee and Gov. Kathy Hochul, has announced that the fan fest will be free to enter across the 16-day period.

The fan fest will run throughout the World Cup group stages, with other fan fests around the city set to host events for the knockout stages of the tournament.

A planned NYNJ World Cup 26 & Telemundo Fan Village at Rockefeller Center, for example, will host events between July 6 and 19, while a Staten Island Fan Zone will host events from June 29 through July 2. A Bronx fan fest will take place on June 13 and 14, with a Brooklyn Fan Zone set to take place at Brooklyn Bridge Park from June 13 through July 19.

Mamdani said all fan zones would be free to enter, stating that low-cost fan events are crucial to delivering a World Cup that is accessible to all New Yorkers.

“When I think back on my first World Cup, some of my most meaningful memories weren’t in the stadium, they were in the fan zones, surrounded by thousands of people brought together by a pure love of the game,” Mamdani said in a statement Monday. “That’s what we’re building here: a World Cup that belongs to New Yorkers.

“By bringing these free fan events to every borough, we’re making sure everyone can be part of that joy.”

Hochul, meanwhile, said the free fan zones will ensure that all New Yorkers and visitors alike feel part of the upcoming World Cup.

“These free fan events across all five boroughs bring the excitement of the game to every New Yorker in every community — supporting our small businesses and bringing New Yorkers together,” Hochul said.

Maya Handa, Mamdani’s World Cup Czar, said the free events would bring fans to all five boroughs, providing an economic boost to small businesses throughout the city.

“By expanding free programming across all five boroughs, we are ensuring that local restaurants and small businesses share in the benefits of the World Cup,” Handa said in a statement.

Alex Lasry, CEO of the NYNJ Host Committee, said the free events aim to showcase the “very best” of the region.

“As the sports and entertainment capital of the world, we’re creating fan experiences that are affordable, accessible, and authentically New York New Jersey—for visitors and, just as importantly, for the residents who call this region home,” Lasry said.

The move comes amid concerns over prices at the upcoming World Cup, with match tickets set at record-breaking prices. Tickets for the eight games at MetLife Stadium, for example, are among the most expensive games at the tournament, with resale prices for a group stage match between Brazil and Morocco rising above $1,000. Category 1 tickets for the World Cup final, meanwhile, have eclipsed $10,000.

Recently, NJ Transit announced that it would be rising round-trip rail tickets between Penn Station and MetLife Stadium to $150 for all eight games at the tournament – a journey that usually costs $12.90. The transit agency also announced that round-trip shuttle services to the stadium from both New York and New Jersey will cost $80.

Mamdani said last week that the price of tickets, coupled with the cost of traveling to and from MetLife, is pricing fans out of the tournament.

“This World Cup is pricing out so many working-class supporters of the game,” Mamdani said. “Soccer, as a game, is born out of the working class. And when you’re looking at the ticket prices to attend the game. You’re looking at the cost of getting to the game. It is something that is out of reach for many.”