Mayor cuts limited World Cup tickets for New Yorkers to $50 after furore

1,000 tickets priced at $50 will be made available to New York City residents for seven of the eight 2026 World Cup games at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The July 19 final is excluded from the $50 offer, with some seats costing nearly $33,000. Ticket distribution will occur through a lottery beginning May 25. Tickets include free round-trip bus transportation to the stadium. Officials will verify residency through multiple methods and will make tickets non-transferable to prevent resale on secondary markets. Tickets will be handed out directly to fans as they board buses on game day, aiming to keep working people from being priced out.

"Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Thursday that 1,000 tickets costing $50 will be made available to city residents of the city of more than 8 million for the world's most watched sporting event. To put that into perspective, that is five lattes in New York City, Mamdani quipped from a bar in Harlem's Little Senegal neighbourhood, alongside US men's national team star Timothy Weah."

"The tickets will be available for seven of the eight games played at the 82,000-seat MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, across the river from Manhattan. The lone exception is the high demand July 19 final, where some seats are costing nearly $33,000. The tickets will also include free round-trip bus transportation to the stadium and will be distributed via a lottery starting May 25."

"With persistent concerns about the sky-high costs for tickets to the games, Mamdani said the city ensure the ones they distribute go to New York City residents and are not resold on the secondary market. He said the tickets will be non-transferable, with a variety of ways used by city officials to verify residency. They will only be handed out directly to fans as they board buses on game day."

"We are making sure that working people will not be priced out of the game that they helped to create, Mamdani said. The Democrat, who took office in January, said the effort underscores how his administration is not simply focused on making everyday things like housing and groceries more affordable. It extends to making it possible for every New Yorker to take part in the things that make us human, he said."

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