{"id":228471,"date":"2026-05-12T12:55:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T12:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/228471\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T12:55:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T12:55:28","slug":"dreams-of-a-world-cup-bonanza-turn-dark-on-empty-hotel-rooms-high-transit-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/228471\/","title":{"rendered":"Dreams of a World Cup Bonanza Turn Dark on Empty Hotel Rooms, High Transit Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

A month before the first World Cup<\/a> soccer match takes place at Met Life Stadium across the Hudson River, only 25% of the available rooms in New York City hotels have been booked for the six weeks when matches will be held.<\/p>\n

FIFA says demand is unprecedented and that every one of the 104 matches across the country will be sold out, even as it continues to release tickets as match days approach. Meanwhile, resale prices for every match are falling in a sign of weak demand.<\/p>\n

The sky high cost of actually getting to Met Life stadium and rapidly rising air fares as a result of the Iran war<\/a> are two more blows to the event\u2019s prospects.<\/p>\n

The result is that an economic boost<\/a> that FIFA claimed would exceed $3 billion for the New York area is likely to fall well short, leaving the city to spend far more on managing the event than it will receive in tax revenue and economic activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe branding effect of the World Cup was always overstated because New York and New Jersey<\/a> already have a lot of visibility internationally,\u201d said Danielle Zanzalari, assistant professor of economics at Rutgers. \u201cPlaces like Cincinnati and Kansas City would benefit more from the international exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n

No one has a single explanation for the disappointing hotel bookings and weak demand. High prices are one factor. A seat purchased directly from FIFA for the first match on June 13 for the lower bowl \u2014 where the views of the field are the best \u2014 originally cost $640, when the teams that would be playing had yet to be announced.<\/p>\n

In the last two weeks, resale prices for that match between two highly ranked teams, Brazil and Morocco, have fallen by 9%, according to TicketData.com<\/a>, which tracks that market.<\/p>\n

Another complication is the unprecedented plan for the World Cup to hold matches in three countries \u2014 the United States, Mexico and Canada \u2014 which may be depressing visitors, says Julie Coker, CEO of New York City Tourism + Conventions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t ignore the broader environment,\u201d added Virginia Maloney, the chair of the City Council\u2019s<\/a> economic development<\/a> committee, which has held hearings on the World Cup. The war with Iran has made international travelers nervous and the Trump administration<\/a> has made it difficult for visitors from many countries to get visas.<\/p>\n

Big events like the World Cup or the Olympics need to generate enough demand that they\u00a0 overcome the loss of tourists who avoid that city because of high prices or fears of overcrowding. But biggest declines in occupancy compared with 2025 occur on the eight days of matches being held at Met Life, showing that tourists are especially avoiding New York on those days.<\/p>\n

According to CoStar, which tracks hotel occupancy and room rates, only a third of New York City rooms are spoken for on June 13 \u2014 12 percentage points below the year ago. Even for the much anticipated World Cup final on July19, only 20% of rooms are taken.<\/p>\n

\"TouristsTourists walk in and out of the Grand Central Hyatt hotel, May 11, 2026. Credit: Ben Fractenberg\/THE CITY<\/p>\n

Those vacancies will take a toll on the city budget<\/a> \u2013 which is already in the grip of a $5.6 billion shortfall.<\/p>\n

Earlier this spring, city Comptroller Mark Levine<\/a> estimated that even if FIFA\u2019s prediction that 1.2 million people would visit New York for the event came true, the additional tax revenue would be no more than $55 million, while the city is expected to spend $70 million in additional costs for the NYPD<\/a>, emergency management, and small business support.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If the number of visitors falls short, the gap between added tax revenue and costs will widen.<\/p>\n

Councilmember Maloney notes that legislation pending in Albany<\/a> that would allow bars and restaurants to expand outdoor activities during the matches could help increase economic activity. She is also lobbying the Mandani administration<\/a> to relax its ban on any permits for groups of 20 or more to use city parks<\/a> during the six weeks, which was instituted to conserve police resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur neighborhood-level, community-run, often free programming that serves the people who live here has been shut out in the process,\u201d she said in a letter to the mayor and police commissioner. \u201cGive New Yorkers back their summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A soccer field next to the Red Hook Recreation Center, March 5, 2021. Credit: Hiram Alejandro Dur\u00e1n\/THE CITY<\/p>\n

Some officials like Coker note that New York is actually doing better than other host cities in terms of rooms booked and she says the trend is improving. \u201cIn March, we were down 11 percentage points for those weeks compared to 2025. Now we are down only 6 percentage points,\u201d she told THE CITY.<\/p>\n

Hotels have begun to reduce rates. The bellwether Midtown Hilton on Sixth Avenue is currently asking $490 a night for its least expensive room for the four days before the first match on June 13, down from $533 a month ago. It is not sold out.<\/p>\n

City Hall<\/a> didn\u2019t return a mesage seeking comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the meantime, even those who purchased tickets are waiting for FIFA to send them the actual tickets \u2013 with their actual seat numbers \u2014 and, with no parking at Met Life and a rail ticket<\/a> to Met Life from Penn Station costing $110 a person, wondering what they are in for and how much it will cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy spouse is going to the June 16 match and he\u2019s not even sure how to get there,\u201d said Zanzalari, who lives in Summit, N.J. \u2014 which is only 20 miles from the stadium.<\/p>\n

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