{"id":263858,"date":"2026-06-11T23:05:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T23:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/263858\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T23:05:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T23:05:50","slug":"hochul-cuts-the-ribbon-at-queens-world-cup-fan-fest-ahead-of-mexico-vs-south-africa-in-tournament-opener-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/263858\/","title":{"rendered":"Hochul cuts the ribbon at Queens World Cup fan fest ahead of Mexico vs South Africa in tournament opener \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gov. Kathy Hochul joined local elected officials, community representatives and soccer fans to cut the ribbon at the official NYNJ World Cup Group Stage HQ<\/a> at the National Tennis Center in Corona<\/a> Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Hochul joined Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Assemblymember Larinda Hooks, State Sen. Jessica Ramos, Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry and Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s World Cup Czar Maya Handa for the event, which took place hours before Mexico opened the 2026 World Cup against South Africa in Mexico City \u2013 a repeat of the 2010 opener in South Africa.<\/p>\n

\"HochulHochul speaks ahead of Thursday\u2019s ribbon-cutting. Photo by Shane O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n

Around 1,000 soccer fans \u2013 predominantly from Mexico \u2013 were in line for the fan fest two hours before kick off at 3 p.m., braving oppressive heat to get into the newly-opened fan fest.<\/p>\n

The official free watch party will take place at Louis Armstrong Stadium, showcasing every group game of the World Cup between June 11 and June 27.\n<\/p>\n

The venue will also feature special performances from Wycleaf Jean and Busta Rhymes, which will not be free and require special tickets. Nas will also play at the venue at 6 p.m. on June 12, just before the USA opens its World Cup campaign against Paraguay in Los Angeles at 9 p.m.<\/p>\n

Any fans wishing to experience any World Cup games at the National Tennis Center are advised to book free tickets in advance.\n<\/p>\n

The NYNJ Host Committee has transformed Louis Armstrong Stadium for the next three weeks, replacing the iconic stadium\u2019s central tennis court with a turf field and a giant screen. The turf field also features a number of couches and armchairs for a VIP experience.<\/p>\n

Surrounding the stadium within the USTA complex are a number of fan activations, hosted by New York City FC, Telemundo and a number of official partners.<\/p>\n

Hochul said the free fan experience, combined with other free fan festivals across the city, provides an alternative to the sky-high prices for World Cup tickets at MetLife Stadium, while also allowing fans to enjoy the games with their compatriots.<\/p>\n

\"PhotoPhoto by Shane O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know exactly how hard it is for families to put together the money they would need for a ticket, but cheering for the team you love shouldn\u2019t happen alone in your living room,\u201d Hochul said. \u201cOur whole community has to come together and celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex Lasry, CEO of the NYNJ Host Committee, described the opening of the Queens fan festival as a \u201cbig day\u201d that has been two years in the making. Lasry added that the free point of entry was central to the Queens fan event and all other fan festivals across the city. The NYNJ Host Committee had initially proposed a $10 entry fee for events at Louis Armstrong Stadium, with Mamdani and Hochul later stumping up $20 million in funding to ensure free access across the city.<\/p>\n

Handa, meanwhile, described the Queens fan fest as \u201cincredible\u201d and pointed to a number of other citywide initiatives to enhance the World Cup experience in New York this summer, including $26 food and beverage specials at over 500 restaurants and bars and a World Cup passport encouraging visitors to explore cultural sites across the five boroughs.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The Mayor] has asked us all to step up and celebrate, and make this World Cup affordable, accessible and joyous,\u201d Handa said.
\n\"PhotoPhoto by Shane O\u2019Brien.\n<\/p>\n

Danny Zausner, chief operating officer of the National Tennis Center, said the NYNJ Host Committee and LiveNation approached the USTA around two years ago to start the process of converting Louis Armstrong Stadium into an official fan fest and forecasted a \u201creally special\u201d three-week party at the venue.<\/p>\n

Richards, meanwhile, echoed Hochul and said the fan festivals would provide a viable free alternative to World Cup ticket prices, providing an authentic atmosphere throughout the group stages.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you\u2019re in Corona rooting for Colombia, or in Long Island City rooting for Team USA, you have a place here in the fan zones, but even if you\u2019re not a die-hard football fan, we\u2019re going to have food, celebrity matches and even concerts,\u201d Richards said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gov. Kathy Hochul joined local elected officials, community representatives and soccer fans to cut the ribbon at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263859,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[83853,310,3945,102287,3932,102288,2106,102289,9,24,63,101206,122,124,123,400,24332,14771,102290],"class_list":["post-263858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-alex-lasry","tag-daily-newsletter","tag-donovan-richards","tag-fan-fest","tag-gov-kathy-hochul","tag-louis-armstong-stadium","tag-mexico","tag-national-tennis-center","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-nynj-host-committee","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-soccer","tag-usta","tag-world-cup","tag-world-cup-group-stage-hq"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}