FIFA President Gianni Infantino says if fans don’t like the sky-high prices for this year’s World Cup, then too bad!
He claimed this week that officials jacked up prices for this summer’s games — where the cost of a ticket to the final is nearly $13,000, compared to about $1,600 for the 2022 championship — because resellers in the US would charge exorbitant fees, anyway.
“We have to look at the market. We are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates,” Infantino said Tuesday at the glitzy Milken Institute conference in Beverly Hills, Calif.
“In the US, it is permitted to resell tickets, as well. So if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price,” he said of the prices that are out of reach for many hard-working Americans.
Tickets for the US Men’s soccer team’s opening match on June 12 against Paraguay start at $1,000. Prices rocket into several thousand dollars for knockout rounds, and resale vultures are asking as much as $2.2 million for four seats for the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
The jaw-dropping price scalpers are seeking for the final prompted a tongue-in-cheek offer of VIP service from global soccer’s most senior fat cat, who rakes in $6 million a year himself.
“If somebody buys a ticket for the final for $2 million, I will personally bring him a hot dog and a Coke to make sure that he has a great experience,” he said.
FIFA, a tax-exempt international organization based in Switzerland, says it has been flooded with more than 500 million ticket requests for the 48-team tournament co-hosted this year by the US, Canada and Mexico and kicking off June 11.
FIFA will rake in a whopping 30% fee for all tickets sold on its official resale platform.
While many fans will likely be priced out of the games, American taxpayers are footing a significant portion of the bill for security after Uncle Sam designated matches hosted on US soil as National Special Security Events.
Congress approved $625 million in federal funding, distributed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to 11 US host cities. The funds are meant to cover police overtime, emergency response, cybersecurity and other protections for the 78 matches scheduled across the States.
The designation, which places the Secret Service as the lead federal agency, triggers federal resources for events deemed to carry national or international significance and elevated security risks.
Host cities have said the money reimburses local law enforcement for the massive operation needed to protect players, fans and infrastructure during the monthlong tournament.
While cities may absorb some additional costs, the bulk of the security tab for this global event shifts to federal taxpayers. Officials have described the funding as essential to prevent gaps in planning for what is expected to be one of the largest sporting events in US history.
It comes as a new white paper painted a sobering picture for New York City’s lodging sector as the World Cup approaches.
Despite years of anticipation that the tournament would deliver a tourism windfall, bookings for the June 13 to July 19 period remain well below expectations, according to data released this week, warning that it could be “a very disappointing World Cup.”
The white paper, prepared by James Lima Planning and Development for the Hotel Association of New York City, found that international visitors to the city last year totaled 12.3 million, which is 2.4 million below industry projections and far short of the 13.5 million who came in 2019, before the COVID outbreak.
The report blamed federal policies and “global political and economic shocks” for the shortfall.
A separate survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association, or AHLA, showed that about two thirds of New York City hotel operators reported softer-than-expected World Cup bookings.
Citywide, hotels had sold just 18% of available rooms for the tournament window as of April, down from 26% at the same time last year, according to CoStar Group data cited in the report released Monday.
Nationally, nearly 80% of hoteliers in World Cup host cities in the US said bookings are tracking below initial forecasts.
In New York, more than 60% of hotel respondents pointed to international travel barriers, visa delays and geopolitical concerns as major obstacles. Also, FIFA has released up to half its pre-booked room blocks — effectively taking away an artificial signal of early demand, the AHLA report said.
