New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced that the “Fan Fest” of the World Cup 2026scheduled to be held at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, will be free for all fans this summer.
The “Fan Fest,” which will take place at Louis Armstrong Stadium between June 11 and 27, was originally scheduled to cost $10 per visit.
However, Mamdani — along with the New York and New Jersey Host Committee and Governor Kathy Hochul — has announced that admission to the Fan Fest will be free for the 16-day period.
The “Fan Fest” will take place throughout the group stage of the World Cup, while other “Fan Fests” distributed throughout the city will host events corresponding to the knockout stages of the World Cup tournament.
For example, the “NYNJ World Cup 26 & Telemundo Fan Village” planned at Rockefeller Center will host events between July 6 and 19; Meanwhile, a “Fan Zone” on Staten Island will hold events from June 29 to July 2.
In the Bronx, a “Fan Fest” will take place on June 13 and 14, while the Brooklyn “Fan Zone” will be set up in Brooklyn Bridge Park, remaining active from June 13 to July 19, the day of the grand finale.
Mamdani said admission to all Fan Zones would be free, noting that low-cost fan events are critical to delivering a World Cup that is accessible to all New Yorkers.
“As I look back on my first World Cup, some of my most significant memories took place not inside the stadium, but in the Fan Zones, surrounded by thousands of people united by a pure love of the game,” Mamdani said in a statement. “That is precisely what we are building here: a World Cup that belongs to New Yorkers.”
“By bringing these free fan events to each of the city’s districts, we’re making sure everyone can be a part of that joy.”
Meanwhile, Governor Hochul stated that the free fan zones They will ensure that New Yorkers and visitors alike feel part of the next World Cup.
“These free fan events, spread across all five boroughs, bring the excitement of the game to every New Yorker in every community, supporting our small businesses and uniting New Yorkers,” Hochul said.
Mamdani-appointed World Cup “czar” Maya Handa said these free events will draw fans to all 5 boroughs, providing an economic boost to small businesses across the city.
“By expanding free programming to all 5 boroughs, we are ensuring that local restaurants and small businesses share in the benefits of the World Cup,” Handa said in a statement.
Alex Lasry, executive director of the NYNJ Host Committee, said these free events aim to showcase “the best” of the region.
“As the sports and entertainment capital of the world, we are creating fan experiences that are affordable, accessible and authentically New York and New Jersey; both for visitors and – just as important – for the residents who call this region home,” said Lasry.
This initiative comes amid concerns about the prices of the next World Cup, with tickets for the matches set at record figures. Tickets for the 8 games that will be played at MetLife Stadium, for example, are among the most expensive in the tournament; Resale prices for a group stage match between Brazil and Morocco have exceeded $1,000. For their part, Category 1 tickets for the World Cup final have surpassed the $10,000 barrier.
Recently, NJ Transit announced that it would increase the price of round-trip train tickets between Penn Station and MetLife Stadium to $150 for the eight games of the tournament, a trip that normally costs $12.90.
The transportation agency also announced that shuttle bus services to and from the stadium, both from New York and New Jersey, will cost $80.
Recently, Mayor Mamdani stated that the price of tickets, coupled with the cost of transportation to and from MetLife Stadium, is keeping many fans out of the tournament.
«This World Cup is excluding many working-class fans of the game for economic reasons… Football, as a sport, was born within the working class. And when you look at the prices of tickets to attend the games… You are looking at the cost of attending the game. “It is something that is out of reach for many,” said the mayor of NYC.
(Reporting by QNS.com’s Shane O’Brien)
