Some World Cup host cities offer fan-friendly pricing amid high-cost narrative

Philadelphia has identified an opportunity to enhance its reputation as one of the East Coast’s most pleasant, interesting and affordable big cities, according to a columnist for The Guardian.

The city’s public transportation to six 2026 World Cup matches at Lincoln Financial Field, renamed Philadelphia Stadium under FIFA’s sponsor rules, will cost fans just $2.90 per ride.

Secondary-market ticket prices have dropped about 16% from last month, hotel rates remain reasonable, and fan festivals will be free throughout the tournament, avoiding the price hikes seen elsewhere, such as Los Angeles’ threefold increase for shade.

“We’ve been working on this for a significant amount of time,” Meg Kane, host city executive for Philadelphia’s local organizing committee, told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “We have always really put the fan experience at the center of what we wanted to build the Fifa World Cup in Philadelphia around.”

Much of the narrative about this summer’s World Cup has focused on high prices, driven by FIFA’s revenue pursuit, local authorities’ cost recovery efforts, or a combination of both.

Philadelphia is one of several U.S. host cities finding room within this oppressive climate, carving out space along the margins to prioritize fans.

Following the disclosure of match ticket prices as high as the cost of a car — which President Donald Trump, a vocal World Cup supporter, said he would balk at — and hotel rates that have dropped due to weak demand, transportation costs have become the latest financial burden.

Train tickets from New York City to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey’s Meadowlands were initially priced at $150, up from the usual $13, before falling to $105 and then $98 after sponsors were secured. From Boston, train tickets to Gillette Stadium cost $80, and bus services are not much cheaper, sometimes more expensive.

After a fan festival in Liberty State Park, New Jersey, was canceled due to taxpayer costs — the same reasoning behind the steep train prices, as FIFA refuses to share transportation expenses — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul announced five free fan festivals across all boroughs.

Other cities have gone further.

Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot and owner of the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United FC, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, rejected FIFA’s pricey in-stadium concession rates. Hot dogs at his stadium will remain at $2, part of its longstanding cheap concessions policy.

Blank aims to showcase Southern hospitality. “Fans give us their energy, their time, their passion, their resources, their families, whatever it may be,” he told WSB-TV. “And we need to honor that in the truest sense of the word, whatever we can.”

In Kansas City, a sprawling city with limited public transit, an extensive cheap bus service will be available for World Cup ticket holders. Return rides to the stadium cost $15, shuttle buses from the airport to downtown are free, and regional buses connecting the fan festival to a dozen hubs cost $5 per day or $50 for the entire tournament. The fan festival remains free.

On one hand, these cities demonstrate that behaving reasonably, fairly and in fans’ interest is still possible at this World Cup. On the other hand, they sacrifice potential revenue that could fund legacy projects. Host cities face a choice: extract some financial benefit and suffer bad publicity, or forgo revenue and leave a positive impression.

Philadelphia is opting for the latter approach.

“Being a host city for the World Cup is very different than being a host city for any other major event,” Kane told the Inquirer. “And people recognize that it changes the profile of the city of Philadelphia.”

Host cities have struggled to sell sponsorships to cover costs, but Philadelphia instead solicited donations from its business community, presuming the positive publicity would benefit the entire city. Public funds were also used.

Together, these efforts provide a blueprint for reducing the cost of attending the World Cup and leaving fans with something other than the feeling of being exploited for every dollar.

It can be done. Leaving money on the table is a choice that can be made.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is the author of “The Long Game: U.S. Men’s Soccer and Its Savage, Four-Decade Journey to the Top, or Thereabouts,” which is out now. He teaches at Marist University.