The agreement is unlike any previously reached by other host committees this summer, where ticket prices have reached eye-watering levels. New York Residents have the opportunity to enter a lottery for the seats. Entries will be capped at 50,000 per day, and all tickets will be handed out directly at the boarding location prior to each fixture – a response to the scalping that has sent prices through the roof this summer. The seats are in the upper tier of MetLife Stadium, roughly equivalent to the Category 3 tickets, the cheapest FIFA has released.
“A World Cup is coming to our backyard, and we want to ensure working-class New Yorkers have the opportunity to be part of it,” Mayor Mamdani said in a statement. “We sat down with the Host Committee to make certain this tournament belongs to the people who make this city what it is. Today, 1,000 New Yorkers are going to get into those stands for $50 and a free bus ride. I’m proud that New York City is leading the way.”
Alex Lasry, CEO of NY/NJ Host Committee, backed Mamdani’s efforts in a release.
“Mayor Mamdani has been unwavering in his commitment to making sure New Yorkers could be part of this historic moment in a real and meaningful way,” he said. “From the beginning, we pushed for a program that prioritized affordability and access for New Yorkers and worked closely together to help make that possible. The World Cup will bring the eyes of the world to our region, and it was important to all of us that the people who define New York City could experience it firsthand.”