World Cup: MetLife Stadium won't have parking for the FIFA soccer event; here's how to get to the games
The MetLife Stadium parking lot will be empty for World Cup games just like it was here on March 3, 2011. Credit: Getty Images/Mario Tama
Fans planning to make the trip to MetLife Stadium for any of the eight FIFA World Cup games in June and July should be prepared for transportation logistics to be a challenge, including $225 to park at the nearby American Dream mall.
General parking for the World Cup will be available only at American Dream, which is connected to MetLife by two pedestrian bridges and is a 0.89-mile, 17-minute walk from the stadium. It will cost fans $225 per game for the first six matches and can be purchased on the official World Cup parking website, JustPark.com. Parking for the seventh match, a round of 16 tilt on July 5, is available for $300. Parking is sold out for the World Cup final at MetLife on July 19.
“We’ve agreed that we will continue to look at demand with FIFA and respond to parking needs as best we can,” American Dream said in a statement to Newsday on Thursday.
Taking the train to MetLife Stadium might not be any better. A report on Tuesday said NJ Transit is considering raising the price of the return trip from MetLife to Penn Station to more than $100.
Jason Raschella, 25, of Commack said the “unaffordable prices on every single aspect required to attend a game” are “a huge slap in the face for lifelong, loyal fans who now finally had their chance to enjoy it.”
“Growing up in New York as a soccer fan, it has been abundantly clear how much people love money and hate soccer in the U.S.,” he added. “After hearing that games for the World Cup would be played so close to home, I was ecstatic with the opportunity to finally witness my favorite sport be played at the highest level. Once I learned about the pricing of tickets and total mess of the parking situation, all that excitement was crushed. I’ve heard countless times from U.S. Soccer Federation and FIFA as a whole that the growth of the sport in America is a top priority. It is very obvious to me that could not be further from the truth.”
Soccer fan Tom Sen, 40, of Staten Island called the World Cup a “very capitalist kind of experience” and said the parking prices “absolutely” are insulting to the average fan.
“They don’t want me there,” Sen said. “They want someone else . . . All these celebrity sports fans, that’s what they want.”
Robert Boland, a sports law professor at Seton Hall Law School and partner at Shumaker Law Firm, described the root of the high prices as “early exuberance combined with security issues.”
“The idea of a major event like this that will be attended by presidents and world leaders will present security problems,” Boland said. “FIFA, of course, wants to generate every dollar possible . . . You may see some melt in these prices as demand and other ticket pricing goes, and as interest either waxes or wanes.”
Parking passes, which have been available for sale since last Oct. 1, must be pre-purchased. The only parking at MetLife available for purchase is accessible parking in Lot J; those prices are the same as general parking.
If parking is sold out for a match, fans can join a wait list to be notified when more becomes available. There also will be a designated rideshare area for pick-up and drop-off near MetLife with a shuttle to the stadium. Exact location and shuttle details have yet to be released.
Long Islanders planning on using the train already had to take the Long Island Rail Road to Penn Station to catch the New Jersey Transit to the Meadowlands, but those prices might become astronomical. The Athletic reported Tuesday that NJ Transit is considering raising the price of the return trip from MetLife to Penn Station from $12.90 to more than $100.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul took to X after that report, writing: “The World Cup should be as affordable and accessible as possible. Charging over $100 for a short train ride sounds awfully high to me. That’s not happening on the MTA.”
On Wednesday, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill posted a video on X defending a potential decision to raise train ticket prices.
“Our administration inherited an agreement where FIFA is providing zero dollars for transportation to the World Cup. Zero,” Sherrill said. “That leaves New Jersey Transit with a $48 million bill to safely get 40,000 fans to and from every game. At the same time, FIFA is making $11 billion off of this World Cup and charging fans up to $10,000 for a single ticket for the final. I won’t stick New Jersey’s commuters with that tab for years to come — that’s not fair.
“So here’s the bottom line: FIFA should pay for the rides, but if they don’t, I’m not going to let New Jersey commuters get taken for one.”
More details on transportation are expected to be revealed Friday by NJ Transit and the New York New Jersey World Cup host committee.
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
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