00:00 Josh Lipton
The first World Cup World Cup game at MetLife is this Saturday. Thousands expected to be on the road taking the train or a bus to get to that match. Bloomberg says it like this. They say it like this. Be prepared for detours, road closures, delays and crowds. Jake, how nervous are you about this?
00:15 Jake
So I’ll tell you what. I’ve got to pick up a rental car tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow, Friday. I got a message today saying expect road closures, expect things to be closed down, expect traffic.
00:27 Jake
I’ve got to find street parking for an F-150. Expect to not be able to find that street parking. So where does that leave me? But again, obviously, it’s a huge deal for New Jersey to be hosting this, right? This is a huge business for MetLife, which they’ve renamed the New York New Jersey Stadium for the event.
00:46 Josh Lipton
Brazil versus Morocco. It’s a big game. It’s big business for for New Jersey, but for all of us who get on the train every day. Well the two of us were talking over lunch today in the news room, the path train, I mean just is going to be a disaster.
00:58 Jake
I’m I’m going to come in early and try to avoid the crowds.
01:00 Josh Lipton
Or do you think Brooke, is this overhyped or no, this is real, we are in a full, it’s a it’s a no driving nightmare situation.
01:10 Brooke
Okay, so I I take the train in from from Hoboken and I get to the office and then I go into Times Square to report from the Nasdaq every day. And I will say I’m willing to put aside the madness because the excitement in New York City right now, beyond just the Knicks is there with this World Cup. I mean, I’m seeing so many more tourists. Typically there it’s you know, high tourism in Times Square, but I am seeing them specifically here for this. You can just tell they have hats on, they have jerseys on. And I think that just this momentum, this opportunity that’s bringing not only to New Jersey, to New York City, but this is, you know, according to this Bank of uh Bank of America note, $11 trillion is going to boost US GDP.
01:42 Josh Lipton
Big business.
01:43 Brooke
16 host cities.
01:43 Josh Lipton
No, that’s great.
01:44 Jake
I agree with that.
01:44 Josh Lipton
But let’s get back to Josh Lipton’s commute. That’s great. What what would you Lincoln Tunnel, Secaucus? What would you prefer or avoid the most?
01:50 Jake
So here here’s the difference, Josh. Here here’s the difference. Brooke and I take the Path train. We live pretty close to the city.
01:54 Josh Lipton
You live out there.
01:55 Jake
way out there. There’s not much going on on the path. NJ Transit
02:00 Josh Lipton
Oh my.
02:01 Jake
Different story. Different story.
02:02 Josh Lipton
Well, here’s a stat. Aight, let’s hear it. Here’s a here’s a stat. Let me make sure I have this. Here it is. Um, new this article in Bloomberg, New Jersey Transit expects 40,000 fans headed to MetLife on match days. So people understand, so viewers understand. I mean, New Jersey Transit, um, not one of the more beloved public transportation systems in the country to begin with.
02:18 Jake
Not super reliable.
02:19 Josh Lipton
to begin with. No. What is I mean, can you imagine? 40,000 more people?
02:24 Brooke
What happened to that ticket? Remember they had a higher cost ticket and now they took down the price. How does that work for you as an everyday commuter? Are you paying up to to travel? Do you know?
02:32 Josh Lipton
I haven’t I haven’t heard that. I mean, if it’s coming, I wouldn’t be surprised. Just one more way you’re going to get nightmares.
02:38 Brooke
to make more money.
02:38 Jake
Josh, do you go through Penn Station?
02:40 Josh Lipton
No, I just don’t go through Penn Station.
02:42 Jake
Because Penn Station is where you’re going to get all the closures.
02:44 Josh Lipton
Penn station. That’s true.
02:45 Jake
Yeah, and they’ve said Penn station for people trying to get out of the city, expect serious delays.
02:50 Josh Lipton
By the way, again, context is important here. It already doesn’t work.
02:54 Jake
It already doesn’t work.
02:55 Josh Lipton
It doesn’t work. Now I’m a Hoboken guy now. Which is much better.
02:56 Jake
That’s true. That’s true. Yeah, you and Brooke.
02:59 Brooke
I will say, on top of on top of just the physical getting to work part of this, in Hoboken, I’m sure other cities in the area, there are also block parties happening. So really local economies leaning into this, local bars, restaurants.
03:07 Jake
Jersey City, block party.
03:08 Brooke
And it’s, I mean, I think that part’s great, but also that’s going to bring in more people, that’s going to cause more delays.
03:13 Jake
Look, I I am all for my local bars getting the business. I am glad we’re going to get the GDP growth. We’re supposed to get a bump in the jobs report for the next few months as they hire more bartenders, more service staff for the restaurants.
03:26 Brooke
And we already saw the leisure and hospitality sector go up.
03:27 Jake
Now, that’s supposed to keep going. There’s some modeling that came out a few days ago that said we should get hotter jobs reports through August. Now, some of that will come off, but it’s still going to be good for the economy. That said, am I a little worried for Josh Lipton? Just a little bit. Just a little bit. Just a little bit.
03:34 Josh Lipton
Don’t be too worried. It just means Josh Lipton maybe coming down with, you know, a cold.
03:40 Brooke
I will say I did hear a lot of remote work happening in June, July because of this.
03:42 Josh Lipton
A smart move.
03:44 Jake
Smart move, smart move.
03:45 Josh Lipton
Brooke, Jake, thank you both. Appreciate it.