World Cup Transportation Planning

By Anthony Birritteri, Editor-in-Chief On May 12, 2025

With an estimated 1 million visitors coming to see the eight FIFA World Cup 2026 games at MetLife Stadium next year, including the final match on July 19, 2026, moving the throngs of visiting soccer fans in and out of MetLife Stadium will require a safe and reliable transportation system that can meet ridership demand.

Last Friday, an early preview of how all transportation stakeholders are working together to make this happen was given at the North Jersey Transportation Forum hosted by the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce, and the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce.

The keynote speaker was New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Francis K. O’Connor, who said the World Cup will not be the Department of Transportation (DOT) or NJ Transit’s “first rodeo.”  Handling mega concerts like Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, and Beyonce, which were all sellouts, were stress tests that showed mass transit can get people out of the stadium. Another big test will be the FIFA Club World Cup game that will be played this summer at MetLife Stadium, O’Connor said.

“We started preparing for the World Cup in 2022 when FIFA announced the host cities. Then, in 2024, when we learned the final was going to be played here, planning kicked into high gear,” O’Connor recalled.

The safety and reliability of the transportation infrastructure is critical to delivering a world-class [World Cup] experience, O’Connor continued. “We are making enhancements that will ensure safe, seamless, and efficient mobility for visitors, residents, businesses, and commuters. This includes prioritizing inspections and repairs to bridges and roadways. We are also working with NJ Transit to set up dedicated bus lanes along Route 120 during peak demand times.”

O’Connor said this type of planning requires a multi-agency, cross-regional approach to ensure seamless connectivity across stadiums, airports, fan events, and transit hubs. “We are working lockstep with the FIFA New York / New Jersey Host Committee and key transportation agencies at the regional, state and federal levels,” O’Connor said. “Together with NJ Transit and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, we are coordinating public transit access to stadiums and various event venues through bus and rail service. At the federal level, the US DOT and Federal Highway Administration are providing expertise and funding to support [our] transportation planning.”

Justin P. Davis, senior vice president for regulatory and government affairs, and chief of staff at NJ Transit, explained that the agency and host committee are finalizing a plan that would move 20,000 people per hour out of MetLife Stadium after each World Cup game via mass transit. This will include a rail connection between the stadium and Secaucus Junction.

Taking an example from the last FIFA World Cup that was played in Qatar, Daniel Baer, AICP senior vice president, national lead for major project development at WSP, said that transit stations should be dispersed throughout the area to accommodate demand. While mentioning the Secaucus rail connection to the stadium as important, Baer asked, “Should we put all our eggs in one basket?

“We need to look at other locations to serve this need, using some of our larger facilities, such as Newark Penn Station and maybe [the station] at Montclair State University,” Baer said.

Jim Kirkos, president and CEO of the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce, said that the transportation investments being made around a large event like the World Cup, while aimed at solving mobility issues during the games, will benefit the region into the future. “This is a long game we are playing concerning transportation infrastructure. … We need to continue doing that,” he said.

The long game was in question at the event as experts weighed in on the needed funding for capital investments in transportation.

As a moderator, Michele Siekerka, president and CEO of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, asked about the challenges in getting the large projects completed.

Daniel Ortega, community affair outreach for ELEC (Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative) 825, said the biggest challenge in transportation today is knowing where funding is coming from. He said state agencies, such as NJ Transit, used to have strong long-term capital plans in terms of what was going to be built and repaired and how it was going to achieve its goals. “Those [plans] have diminished over time. Some of it is due to policies, some of it is administrative. … The entire transportation system needs funding and the backing of leadership from the public and private sectors,” Ortega said.

In another session, Zoe Baldwin, vice president, state programs & New Jersey director, Regional Plan Association, struck a similar note, saying that when the Great Recession hit and the ARC tunnel project was cancelled, “something happened culturally where we had no vision.”

She recalled a time when New Jersey was known for project delivery, and when New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) was envious of that. “NJ Transit was the model,” Baldwin said, adding that infrastructure projects today should be looked at as investments and not costs.”

In the face of funding cuts at the federal level, NJDOT’s O’Connor, concluding the event on a confident note, said that for the World Cup next year, “Our transportation system will be ready.”

To access more business news, visit NJB News Now.

Related Articles: