For 11 days next summer, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, home of the U.S. Open, will be partially transformed into a 10,000-capacity World Cup fan zone for select group-stage matches.

The New York New Jersey host committee on Wednesday morning unveiled plans for the New York City fan zone, which will be housed at Louis Armstrong Stadium from June 17 to June 28. This is the third official fan experience announced by the NYNJ host committee.

Organizers have confirmed to The Athletic that the Queens fan zone, as well as the region’s main FIFA Fan Festival at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J., will require a $10 ticketed entry. The committee previously unveiled plans for a fan village at Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan from July 4 to July 19, which will offer free entry.

“These spaces are essential to the World Cup experience, creating accessible and affordable places for people to come together and experience the biggest games in one of the world’s most iconic venues,” Alex Lasry, CEO of the NYNJ host committee, told The Athletic by email on Tuesday. “And this is just the beginning — we look forward to announcing additional fan engagement opportunities so the entire region can feel the impact of the World Cup.”

The fan zone in Queens will be produced by Live Nation and feature live match broadcasts, family-friendly entertainment, interactive games, local food vendors and official merchandise. Fans will also have the option for VIP hospitality experiences. A rendering of the proposed fan zone shows what looks like a massive watch party.

The USTA is a stone’s throw from Major League Baseball’s Citi Field, where the New York Mets play, and Etihad Park, the future home of Major League Soccer’s New York City FC. The soccer stadium is slated to open in 2027.

Danny Zausner, COO of the USTA National Tennis Center, said in a statement that partnering with the host committee for the Queens fan zone “allows us to showcase how sport can unite communities in meaningful ways.”

Queens, considered the most diverse borough in New York City, is nicknamed “The World’s Borough.” In a statement, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. said. “With diehard fans of every national team here in the most diverse county in the United States — where 190 countries are represented and 360 languages are spoken — it’s only right that Queens families have a dynamic, centralized place where they can cheer their favorite squads on.”

With a capacity of 82,500 at nearby MetLife Stadium, where eight World Cup matches will be played, organizers have been preparing for the inevitable spillover of fans across the region.

Organizers expect about 10,000 people per day to attend the Queens fan zone, with the potential for sell-outs. Fans with tickets to the World Cup games will also be expected to pay for entry to the fan zone, as they are considered separate events. At past World Cups, a match ticket may guarantee fans certain perks, like free public transit to games, with fan fests typically considered free and open to the public.

MetLife Stadium will host the 2026 World Cup final (Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images)

The decision to charge for entry in New York and New Jersey was partly made to help organizers with planning and crowd management. Ticketed entry, in theory, helps organizers better anticipate attendance levels and better coordinate staffing, security, transportation and emergency services.

There is also, of course, a revenue component, with charging for tickets as a way for host cities to drive revenue. Other U.S. host cities, like Kansas City and Philadelphia, have committed to free fan fests, as has Vancouver in Canada.

The 39-day official FIFA fan festival at Liberty State Park will be open from June 11 through the World Cup final on July 19, 2026. It will cost $10 for a standard ticket, with children under 12 able to enter free with the purchase of an adult ticket. Tickets for the first week of the fan festival (June 11-June 16) will go on sale at 12 p.m. ET on Wed., Dec. 17, organizers said. Tickets will be buy one, get one free through December 31.

Ticketing information for the USTA fan zone will be available by early 2026. Organizers will also be releasing more information about which matches they plan to broadcast at the Queens fan zone at a later date. There will be 53 matches to choose from during that 11-day period, including four group-stage fixtures that will be played at nearby MetLife in East Rutherford, N.J.

Next year’s World Cup is on track to be one of the most expensive World Cups ever, with New Jersey set to host some of the priciest matches of the competition. Outside of the cost of attending matches, hotel prices have also surged dramatically in the days following the World Cup draw, with an average increase of more than 300 percent.

The group-stage matches at MetLife, home of the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets, are some of the most sought-after fixtures so far, particularly the venue’s opening match between Brazil and Morocco on June 13 and the Ecuador-Germany match on June 25. Then there’s the cost of attending the coveted final on July 19 — the price of a Category 3 ticket, the cheapest available option, starts at $4,185 in FIFA’s primary market, which entered its third phase of sales this week. That cost balloons to $8,680 for Category 1.