Since then, World Cup host countries have invested heavily in getting fans to and from matches, especially in Russia in 2018, where even long-distance trains between host cities were free, and Qatar in 2022, where free metro access helped turn stadium-hopping into part of the tournament experience.
The World Cup Is Great For FIFA—And A Bad Bet For Cities
The best available estimate suggested a $14 million shortfall on a $22 million public investment. That’s not a rounding error, but a warning for all cities looking to host a large-scale sporting event.
They prob already have the infrastructure and routes in the standard daily usage… most of these I am guessing will not be standard routes or infrastructure, and just temporary for the events.
Nope. It’s the normal busses and trains. On a usual day they charge $12.50 for the airport to city train, but the city decided to just turn it up to $100 for this event.
Similarly the prices on the normal busses are going to be special event rates.
Civilised countries use events like this as a vehicle (no pun intended) to build infrastructure - like public transport - for the event that will then be a public good after.
FIFA, in their infinite wisdom, made the decision to have all the parking around MetLife Stadium used for (paid) fan and merch space. MetLife is primarily built for car traffic, so this is a disaster waiting to happen. Yet another example of their greed and hubris. This was so poorly thought out.
Telodzrum@lemmy.world
on 30 May 14:19
nextcollapse
Putting any games at the Medowlands was just dumb as fuck. There are plenty of stadiums in urban centers which would have been great sites and already have lodging, dining, and entertainment infrastructure.
ViaGetty@lemmy.dbzer0.com
on 30 May 14:39
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Same with Boston. The games are being played in Foxboro, next to a strip mall, a train ride away from the city (they’ll have the new platform finished by June 12th, promise)
SayJess@lemmy.blahaj.zone
on 30 May 12:21
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The $95 bus fare was never going to break the bank, Phillips-Hunter knows, but he and so many other Scots are already paying huge sums to see their men’s team compete in the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. Phillips-Hunter estimates it will take him two years to pay off the credit card debt he’s taking on for his six-day trip to the U.S., including the $1,350 he spent on a ticket for the Scotland-Morocco match.
How could a 6 day event be worth debt that would take 2 years to pay off?
People in the US generally don’t care about soccer, so they wouldn’t see the value in eating the cost for people to come here and use up a considerable amount of infrastructure.
I like soccer, but not enough to watch it (or any other sports). If the burden is so great on the cities, then the ones who make the most should offset the cost. But then how would those that make the most…make the most?
atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
on 30 May 12:22
nextcollapse
These costs should be borne by the organization that is earning money out of these events, which is FIFA. It should not always be the host cities that take on all the expenses,” Gogishvili said, noting the soccer body’s expected $13 billion revenue from 2023-26.
Huge events like this and the Olympics cost local communities a ton of money.
All the World Cup games are being played in NFL stadiums in the US and existing soccer stadiums in Canada and Mexico. As far as I know there isn’t much new infrastructure being built for this one. The Olympics, on the other hand, have an obscene amount of specialized infrastructure that gets built and is typically abandoned after the games.
That about sums it up for the organization of this whole thing from what I’ve heard.
SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social
on 30 May 12:51
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I can’t speak for other countries, but at the world cup in Germany, your ticket to the stadium was your ticket for public transit, and it was all inclusive.
Laughs in $22 train ticket from Sydney Airport to Central Station.
Remember to protect your social services from the neoliberal plague or this could be you.
ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net
on 30 May 15:05
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The airports can be far away from the city center. I recently paid 10 euros to get to the airport by bus but it was 1h drive. Where I live it’s more like 15 minutes and it’s about 2 euros.
BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
on 30 May 16:59
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I simply do not understand the appeal of watching other people doing sports, and the amount of money, energy, space, and resources spent on sporting events is mind boggling.
I saw an article that said NY-based fans were warning visiting Europeans not to attempt to walk to the stadium because of how pedestrian hostile it is.
We have some world Cup games in my city. The stadium they are using is definitely walkable but it might take about 45 minutes to walk there. The easiest way to get there is the regional rail connection so hopefully the transit authority runs more trains. You can fit 3 or 4k people in a commuter train at crush load so it shouldn’t be terrible.
Considering that new York city has one of the better transit systems in North America I couldn’t imagine how bad it’s going to be in Dallas.
It’s in the middle of wetlands across two rivers and over some cliffs from manhattan. Something like a 6-7 hour walk from midtown despite being like 6 miles away in a straight line
Edit:actually longer. My walking directions took the ferry across the Hudson. To actually walk you’d need to go up to the GWB.
dylanmorgan@slrpnk.net
on 30 May 15:32
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Yeah, I saw that New York/New Jersey transit will be absurdly expensive for getting to MetLife stadium. Everyone is gouging for the World Cup.
FIFA is welcome to make transportation affordable, rather than being a drain on the local economies (and profiting in the billions.) On the other hand, those that can afford a match ticket can afford to spend 1% of that to get to the match.
Increasing bus ticket prices from $12.50 to $100 is not FIFA’s decision. Also, most sane countries use the event as an excuse to invest in public transport and general cleanup of the area for the public good years into the future. The US are the only ones so shortsighted about this stuff.
threaded - newest
Yeah, don’t come here. It’s shit.
That’s not so bad, if you consider that it’s only 5 dollars per hour
Less, than 9 cents per minute! And basically free per second! So cheap!
forbes.com/…/the-world-cups-hidden-cost-why-host-…
“that’s not a rounding error, but…”
Someone used an LLM to approve their words. Fucking brain-dead sheep. I hate this new Internet.
Here in my country football matches, but also many concerts and so on come with a free public transit ticket.
They prob already have the infrastructure and routes in the standard daily usage… most of these I am guessing will not be standard routes or infrastructure, and just temporary for the events.
Nope. It’s the normal busses and trains. On a usual day they charge $12.50 for the airport to city train, but the city decided to just turn it up to $100 for this event.
Similarly the prices on the normal busses are going to be special event rates.
Civilised countries use events like this as a vehicle (no pun intended) to build infrastructure - like public transport - for the event that will then be a public good after.
FIFA, in their infinite wisdom, made the decision to have all the parking around MetLife Stadium used for (paid) fan and merch space. MetLife is primarily built for car traffic, so this is a disaster waiting to happen. Yet another example of their greed and hubris. This was so poorly thought out.
Putting any games at the Medowlands was just dumb as fuck. There are plenty of stadiums in urban centers which would have been great sites and already have lodging, dining, and entertainment infrastructure.
Same with Boston. The games are being played in Foxboro, next to a strip mall, a train ride away from the city (they’ll have the new platform finished by June 12th, promise)
Absolutely, these are really dumb places to pick.
Did FIFA decide that?
How could a 6 day event be worth debt that would take 2 years to pay off?
People in the US generally don’t care about soccer, so they wouldn’t see the value in eating the cost for people to come here and use up a considerable amount of infrastructure.
I like soccer, but not enough to watch it (or any other sports). If the burden is so great on the cities, then the ones who make the most should offset the cost. But then how would those that make the most…make the most?
Huge events like this and the Olympics cost local communities a ton of money.
And possibly a lot of costs on unused big new shiny infrastructure after the event.
All the World Cup games are being played in NFL stadiums in the US and existing soccer stadiums in Canada and Mexico. As far as I know there isn’t much new infrastructure being built for this one. The Olympics, on the other hand, have an obscene amount of specialized infrastructure that gets built and is typically abandoned after the games.
While that might be that case for this world in cup, it’s not always like that.
<img alt="" src="https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/ceefec43-b859-4914-8584-b84377674180.jpeg">
That about sums it up for the organization of this whole thing from what I’ve heard.
I can’t speak for other countries, but at the world cup in Germany, your ticket to the stadium was your ticket for public transit, and it was all inclusive.
*Laughs in American
<img alt="" src="https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/28dfb713-c603-4684-be31-609ba27d3570.gif">
You just tell us if you need a socialized hug, okay?
Laughs in $22 train ticket from Sydney Airport to Central Station.
Remember to protect your social services from the neoliberal plague or this could be you.
The airports can be far away from the city center. I recently paid 10 euros to get to the airport by bus but it was 1h drive. Where I live it’s more like 15 minutes and it’s about 2 euros.
About 40 years too late for that advice. 😒
I think it was the same in Russia, it included the visa and public transit, or maybe you could buy a package that included all? 🤔
I think Russia even included long distance public transport, that wasn’t included in Germany if I remember correctly.
Yes you are right, I just asked my friend who attended
You displayed a fifa credential on a lanyard and you could ride long distance trains between host cities and local public transit for free
I dislike FIFA and Russia, but this is how it should be done.
I simply do not understand the appeal of watching other people doing sports, and the amount of money, energy, space, and resources spent on sporting events is mind boggling.
I do understand the appeal, but I usually have no desire to sound like a pompous dick about it.
You sound like a dick now 🤷🏾♂️
People who regularly use those trains to commute are also pissed.
Just wait until you hear what country you have to travel to.
“Country”
“Cuntery”
Related and thought this was an interesting watch www.youtube.com/watch?v=307RZ3stxNg
I saw an article that said NY-based fans were warning visiting Europeans not to attempt to walk to the stadium because of how pedestrian hostile it is.
NYC is far from pedestrian hostile.
Tell that to Met Life Stadium
MetLife stadium is not in NYC, and no reasonable person is going to walk there.
It’s on the city to invest some money to make it walkable in the 6 years since they won the bid. When else are they gonna get a chance to do so?
We have some world Cup games in my city. The stadium they are using is definitely walkable but it might take about 45 minutes to walk there. The easiest way to get there is the regional rail connection so hopefully the transit authority runs more trains. You can fit 3 or 4k people in a commuter train at crush load so it shouldn’t be terrible.
Considering that new York city has one of the better transit systems in North America I couldn’t imagine how bad it’s going to be in Dallas.
It’s in the middle of wetlands across two rivers and over some cliffs from manhattan. Something like a 6-7 hour walk from midtown despite being like 6 miles away in a straight line
Edit:actually longer. My walking directions took the ferry across the Hudson. To actually walk you’d need to go up to the GWB.
Yeah, I saw that New York/New Jersey transit will be absurdly expensive for getting to MetLife stadium. Everyone is gouging for the World Cup.
FIFA is welcome to make transportation affordable, rather than being a drain on the local economies (and profiting in the billions.) On the other hand, those that can afford a match ticket can afford to spend 1% of that to get to the match.
Increasing bus ticket prices from $12.50 to $100 is not FIFA’s decision. Also, most sane countries use the event as an excuse to invest in public transport and general cleanup of the area for the public good years into the future. The US are the only ones so shortsighted about this stuff.
Well, they have to pay for the peace price somehow.
If you come here you’ll have a bad time