New York and New Jersey governments will spend roughly a half-billion dollars to host the World Cup and other major events this summer, even as worries mount about the economic payback that comes from the world’s largest sporting competition.
While soccer governing body FIFA is responsible for most costs related to the match-day stadium experience, other expenses — including transportation and police overtime — are being borne largely by state and local governments.
Across the 16 North American areas that will host matches in the tournament that begins next week, the largest bill is likely to fall upon New York and New Jersey, where eight matches will be played including the final on July 19. Elected officials across the political spectrum — from New York City’s democratic socialist mayor to New Jersey’s Republican legislators — have expressed concern about how much of the burden they will saddle for FIFA’s lucrative flagship event.
A POLITICO tally, based on responses from the two states and New York City, offers perhaps the clearest accounting to date of that cost: Officials are planning to spend about $503 million for a season of summertime mega-events, the overwhelming majority of the funds directly connected to the World Cup. Local officials across the continent are becoming increasingly concerned that taxpayers are shouldering the greatest financial burden for the games while FIFA takes the most lucrative revenue opportunities from ticket sales, broadcast contracts and corporate sponsors. Unlike FIFA, which is expected to earn $8 billion this year, governments — which are bound to specific obligations in hosting agreements with FIFA — have little opportunity to draw direct revenue from the tournament.
World Cup boosters have instead counted on visiting soccer fans replenishing host-city coffers through spending at local businesses that pay taxes. New uncertainty, derived from both global instability and domestic conflict, has raised doubts about how much of that tourist activity will materialize. That, in turn, has unleashed new frictions between New York and New Jersey officials to ensure they are not being shortchanged.
"I think that the FIFA World Cup is a great way to bring people to New York City and remind tourists that New York City is a great place to visit," said New York City Councilmember Virginia Maloney, who chairs the Economic Development Committee that has held hearings on the city’s World Cup spending. "I am concerned about our long-term trajectory for tourism, especially with the national politics and geopolitical things at play here."
Keeping score
One of the strongest aspects of the three-country bid to host the World Cup was the continent’s existing sports infrastructure across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Unlike other recent host countries, North American cities would not have to build any new stadiums to welcome the tournament.
Nonetheless, New Jersey is pouring tens of millions of dollars into upgrades meant to improve access to MetLife Stadium. New Jersey Transit is spending $106 million — $100 million of which came from the federal government beginning under the Biden administration — to build a temporary bus terminal and make signal and roadway upgrades. Over the past several years, the state sent $78 million, about one-quarter of which came from federal pandemic relief money, to the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, to build a new pedestrian bridge to MetLife and to help the authority host large, international events.
After FIFA selected MetLife Stadium in 2022 as one of 11 U.S. venues for the World Cup, a regional host committee was established to assist in tournament planning. So far, the nonprofit committee — which is chaired by former New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy — has received $111 million in cash and loans from New Jersey, the state of New York and New York City. New York state and New York City have delivered $61 million to the host committee, including $35 million from New York City’s economic-development agency and $26 million from the state, according to the states and information provided by the City Council. Roughly half of the city’s spending was appropriated under former Mayor Eric Adams. His successor, Zohran Mamdani, has separately budgeted about $7 million dollars for World Cup-related costs across tourism, emergency management, transportation and park agencies.
New Jersey’s spending was largely decided under budgets signed by former Gov. Phil Murphy. The state has sent $50 million to the committee, according to the state treasurer’s office. That includes $15 million in loans from the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, the state agency that supports the area around MetLife.
New Jersey is estimating a total of $40 million for various costs spread across state and local government, including security and policing, in addition to $2.5 million for tourism initiatives related to the tournament.
New York is also spending about $5 million to help host watch-party events across the state for fans and for I Love NY-related marketing and grants. The just-approved New York state budget has another $14 million that could go to the World Cup or other major events.
“New York is no stranger to hosting world class events and our strategic, targeted investments ensure the entire state can benefit,” said Kristin Devoe, a spokesperson for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “As part of the region hosting the World Cup, this is a once in a generation opportunity to showcase our state, support small businesses, and deliver community benefits that will outlive the tournament.”
There are also other major costs tied to the World Cup that are more difficult to isolate because of other major events intersecting on the summer calendar. The New York Police Department expects to spend about $92 million on overtime and other expenses to secure the city over the World Cup’s five weeks, which overlaps with the NBA Finals, July 4th and a major parade of warships President Donald Trump is expected to attend in New York Harbor. Some policing costs will be reimbursed through a grant program managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has designated $66 million to the region. The federal Department of Transportation recently released $10 million to the region to help with transportation costs.
But Democrats in both the New York area and Washington have argued that the Trump administration has moved too slowly to release the funds or is failing to fully meet local needs.
“The federal government, slash, FIFA, did not give us nearly enough money to cover the overtime bill on the New York City Police Department,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told the City Council in early June.
FIFA did not respond to a request for comment.The host committee released a study last summer predicting $3.3 billion in economic impact across New York and New Jersey, including about $432 million in state and local tax revenues.
“The World Cup is not just a global sporting event,” Tammy Murphy said at the time. “It’s a powerful economic engine that will deliver lasting benefits to our region.”
A 50-50 challenge
The local host committee is set up to raise money from private sources, but does so at a disadvantage. Host committees are allowed to enlist sponsors, but only in categories of goods and services in which FIFA does not already have its own “global sponsor” in place. So while FIFA claims Coca-Cola, Budweiser and Hyundai, the New York New Jersey committee has Hackensack Meridian Health, Manhattan-based law firm Paul, Weiss and PSEG, the Newark-based electric and gas utility.
The committee, which will wind down operations after the World Cup ends, does not yet have to disclose what it has raised from donors and sponsors, and it declined to do so.
“While specific costs continue to be finalized, our model relies heavily on corporate partnerships and private support,” host committee spokesperson Natalie Hamilton said in a statement. “We take the stewardship of public resources seriously and have worked closely with our government partners to ensure a responsible approach to planning for the World Cup.”
Without details, lawmakers on both sides of the Hudson River are pushing to find out more. The Maloney-led hearings in the New York City Council were intended to ensure that a moment of global attention translates into lasting economic benefit.
New Jersey state Senator Paul Sarlo, a Democrat who chairs his chamber’s budget committee, said there will be a “complete analysis” after the World Cup of what was spent and what the return was.
"That will probably serve as a blueprint for other states and other countries, quite frankly, to look at the viability of hosting these massive world class events," he said in an interview.
In New Jersey, spending decisions have fueled longstanding tensions with New York. As Mamdani has trumpeted a deal struck last month with the host committee to provide 1,000 tickets for $50 apiece to city residents, Republican lawmakers in New Jersey have pressed the host committee to better explain where some of their state’s money is going.
“New Jersey’s taxpayers are carrying costs that remain inadequately explained and, in important respects, appear to have benefited residents of another state,” a group of New Jersey’s Republican lawmakers wrote in a May letter to host committee officials, including Tammy Murphy.
Sherrill, who was elected last fall on an affordability-focused platform, has been publicly wary of throwing taxpayer dollars at the World Cup. She balked at the cost of subsidizing transportation to MetLife for match ticketholders and ended plans for a “fan fest” event in Liberty State Park amid concerns about cost, security and logistics. Hochul, whose state budget is roughly four times larger than New Jersey’s, appears less sensitive to the World Cup’s fiscal ramifications.
Hochul and Sherrill now have dueling programs to transport fans to MetLife Stadium — New Jersey Transit through higher pricing for its trains and buses, New York via a low-cost shuttle program that repurposes school buses — and area politicians have demonstrated different priorities in their negotiations with both FIFA and the host committee.
Now Sherrill, too, is expected to announce some kind of a ticket discount program. Sherrill also fought to change one of the limited-time signs on MetLife Stadium from “New York New Jersey” to “New Jersey New York.”
While New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority often receives the lion’s share of federal transit money earmarked for the region — including during pandemic-era bailouts — there is an acknowledgment that New Jersey is bearing much of the burden for the World Cup.
According to a memo from the states to the federal government obtained by POLITICO, $6 million of the World Cup transportation funds are going to New Jersey Transit. The MTA’s share is $4 million.
That helps cushion the blow to the New Jersey’s cash-strapped transit system of having to spend an estimated $62 million this year to transport up to 320,000 fans to and from MetLife – a sum also being offset by higher fares, contributions from the host committee and corporate partners, like the state’s largest utility.
On the one hand, New Jersey will finish first in the spending derby against New York. But it is New Jersey that will have something to show for the money after the July 19 final, like better infrastructure for the largest professional sports facility in the region.
"A lot of those improvements, there's a long-term benefit," Sarlo said.
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