NEW YORK (WABC) — The countdown to the World Cup is on! We are just nine days away from the first match at MetLife Stadium where Brazil will take on Morocco.
On Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani shared how New York City is preparing for the event.
The MTA will run additional subway, LIRR and Metro-North service on match days and to a free fan fest.
The governor and MTA officials also highlighted how their plan will get fans to the games seamlessly without adding unnecessary congestion to the roads.
When it comes to subways, 33,000 cameras have been installed in the system, one in every subway car.
“A surge of fans will be using mass transit to and from the stadium or to their favorite soccer bar or fan fest events that you announced you are doing in every single borough, we are around the state as well,” Hochul said. “And this all requires additional resources, you know, the personnel, the technology, not just from the MTA, but from law enforcement as well.”
They are also deploying drones, including at bridges and tunnels.
All construction work will be suspended on match days to prevent unnecessary backups. Each match day is also being declared a Gridlock Alert day to discourage nonessential driving to limit truck deliveries through Midtown.
“We have spent months coordinating, drilling and preparing so that when the world arrives at our doorstep, we are ready. From the first kickoff to the final whistle and long after, our job is clear: keep residents and visiting fans safe, informed and supported during every moment of this busy summer,” Mayor Mamdani said.
The city has also rolled out several initiatives, including affordable shuttle buses, and a plan that converts 42nd Street into a bus-and-shuttle-only corridor on match days.
It is all to ensure fans have an easy time getting to matches while minimizing disruptions for New Yorkers.
Soccer fans can take a $20 bus to get to MetLife or NJ Transit for $98.
NJ Transit has sold about 18,000 tickets so far, about 5.5% of its inventory for the World Cup. Eyewitness News asked NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri if he had any plans to lower the $98 price tag.
“If price was a factor, 75% of the bus tickets priced at $20 would not still be sitting there. This is not a question of price, this is a question of the cost of the service. I’ve always been straightforward on this, this is not an arbitrary price we came up with, it’s a price to provide the service. So from that standpoint, this is truly a decision for the fans leaving Penn Station to me,” said Kris Kolluri, NJ Transit CEO and president.
There are also limited private buses and for hire livery services, as well as extremely limited parking for a fee near the stadium. The parking lot at MetLife Stadium will be off limits for security reasons, necessitating the other transit options.
Transportation officials anticipated only 6,000 fans would travel by ride share options, and just over over 20,000 per game being commercial-organized travel for FIFA-related hospitality, partners, VIPs and affiliates.
Organizers will expecting fans will wait until closer to the event to purchase tickets, with many soccer fans accustomed to buying tickets at stations on gameday.
Additionally, law enforcement agencies will maintain an enhanced security presence on match days and for special events, with boots on the ground across major hubs and advanced surveillance and proactive crowd management.
Complicating things even more, if the Knicks keep playing like they have been, if a Game 6 of the NBA Finals is necessary, that would take place on Thursday, June 16 at 8:30 p.m., hours after France vs Senegal at 3 p.m. at MetLife Stadium.
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