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The recent decision by international soccer officials to hold not only some matches but also the World Cup final at MetLife is a big deal for Murphy, co-owner of a women’s professional soccer team and a nationally ambitious Democrat. It was a victory. But it raises the stakes for improving New Jersey transportation, which has been one of the two-term governor’s top priorities since taking office.
Traffic to and from MetLife, New Jersey Stadium, home of the New York Jets and New York Giants, has been a disaster for New Jersey Transit in the past. His third-largest transit system in the country is also plagued by ongoing financial instability. The airline currently faces a $1 billion budget deficit next year and has no plans to close the deficit after announcing fare increases this winter.
The stadium, which will be renamed New York-New Jersey Stadium for the World Cup, is just nine miles from Manhattan’s Central Park, but it might as well be on another planet. It’s surrounded by industrial sites and wetlands that have served as the backdrop for Hollywood for generations, most famously in “The Godfather” (“Throw away your guns, grab your cannoli”). A spaghetti-like highway network surrounds the stadium, but there is only one rail line to and from, with limited service and no direct connection to New York City.
People were stuck in stadiums for hours after the 2014 Super Bowl (where people in the state chanted “the jerseys suck”) and after WWE’s WrestleMania 35 in 2019. It wasn’t all the agency’s fault. WrestleMania had two matches. Hours later than planned, which was especially unexpected for a scripted sport, the transit authority and the state were held responsible.
Now, New Jersey officials will have to brace for a repeat crush of soccer fans when MetLife Life hosts eight World Cup matches in 2026, including the July 19 final. It’s likely that Taylor Swift-sized crowds will gather over several days and shine the biggest spotlight ever shown on New Jersey, with about 1.5 billion people watching the 2022 World Cup. It is thought to mean that.
Mr Murphy vowed to “strengthen” transport in the lead-up to the World Cup. He will be out of office by then, but his legacy on transportation issues, which have been maligned in recent months, will be put to the test. The state is partnering with New York as a dual host for the soccer tournament.
As the New Jersey Department of Transportation faces pressing questions about whether it’s up to the task, Murphy and other transportation officials have said they’re not willing to pay attention to Swift’s tours, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran and homegrown son Bruce Springsteen. , cited its successful handling of last summer’s record-breaking events, including other major shows by K-Pop and others. Band TWICE.
“Not only are we looking forward to providing a seamless transportation experience for fans around the world, we want everyone to know that their fan experience begins as soon as they board a New Jersey Transit train or bus. “We want to do that,” said Kevin Corbett, the agency’s CEO.
Unlike Swift’s tenure, which took place over long weekends when train and bus service could easily be arranged, World Cup matches held at MetLife include several mid-week matches, with the world There is a conflict between the demands of visitors from around the world and New Jersey commuters, most of whom head to New York City for work.
Zoe Baldwin, New Jersey director of the Regional Planning Association, a historic nonprofit that has helped improve infrastructure throughout the New York City region, said transportation is an issue that bidders must address when applying to host games. He said it was one of the.
“I’m confident the state is taking this seriously,” Baldwin said. “But I worry that the focus on transit will now be on people going to special events, rather than the long-term health of the people who use transit every day. ”
Last summer, in anticipation of the World Cup, the New Jersey Department of Transportation began spending tens of millions of dollars to upgrade bus lines between MetLife and the main train station in nearby Secaucus.
Visitors from all over the world (and perhaps some from Berlin, London, and Paris, all of which are known for their mass transit) enjoy the New York area’s dysfunctional transportation system, of which New Jersey Transit is just one part. I’m going to do it.
So far, the two agencies most likely to shuttle fans back and forth between Manhattan and New Jersey, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the New Jersey Department of Transportation, are still in the early stages of World Cup planning, but both companies Although we have been cooperating, due to a major event in the past. The port authority will likely work with local, state and federal officials to develop the plan and establish some sort of special group in charge of the plan. Amtrak also operates trains in and out of Manhattan.
The 2026 World Cup will be held in 11 cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and will be co-hosted by New York and New Jersey with MetLife. For fans staying in New York City, he will likely be using at least two, and possibly more than three, different transportation systems to get to and from New York and through New Jersey to MetLife. .
If traveling from Manhattan, soccer fans will likely take a NJ Transit bus to MetLife and back again at the 70-year-old Port Authority bus terminal, which is in the early stages of a $10 billion redo. Bus service is expected to continue without interruption. Or you might need to take a New York Metropolitan Transit Authority subway to a Port Authority train under the Hudson River, a New Jersey Transit train, and a New Jersey Transit bus to MetLife. .
Even transportation officials who traditionally didn’t pay much attention to soccer, like Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole, understand that it’s now in the spotlight.
“It makes the Super Bowl look like a flag football game,” he says.
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