World Cup A Bust For Secaucus, Local Businesses And Mayor Say

SECAUCUS, NJ — The 2026 World Cup is already the best attended in World Cup history, says FIFA, and the games aren't even over yet. And MetLife (renamed New York New Jersey stadium) has been consistently packed, filling more than 80,000 seats for each match that's been held there.

It's just too bad Secaucus hasn't benefited.

"Nothing. We got nothing," Mayor Mike Gonnelli fumed this week. "I've talked to every business in town, Carnegie deli, La Reggia, Outback. They're all empty. No business in town has seen any uptick from this."

"It's been the opposite of what we expected," the manager of the Secaucus Outback Steakhouse said Wednesday. "Business has actually been a downturn."

Gonnelli blamed it on the way the state of New Jersey planned World Cup infrastructure: There is no parking allowed at the stadium. The state encouraged people to take NJ Transit to the game — and then charged $98 tickets to get there. There have been reports of Uber and Lyft chaos at the designated ride-share pick-up areas in town, which Secaucus Police are being paid overtime to patrol. Even if you choose to shell out $98 for a train ticket, there is also no parking allowed around the Secaucus train station.

And that's why most of those 80,000 fans are skipping right over Secaucus altogether.

"They're going on buses from New York to New Jersey and then right back to New York again. Nobody is stopping here and spending money in our restaurants, bars and businesses," said Gonnelli. "We were told this was going to be an economic boon for us, and it's not. Nobody is spending any money here. All the restaurants in town are hurting."

Tara Krajewski owns Charlie's Corner, a longtime bar in the center of town. She said the World Cup has been unlike anything she's ever witnessed in a lifetime of owning a small business.

"We usually do well when there's a game or a concert at MetLife," she explained. "We get business a few days before the event and a few days after."

That's because people who work at the game or concert, whether its stage crew, media or sometimes even the band itself, will usually stay in Secaucus motels. So will all the fans. So her bar gets a revenue spike from nearly any event held at MetLife.

"But with the World Cup, we haven't had any of that," she said. "What happened was all the hotels in Secaucus gouged prices so much for the World Cup that hotel prices here were equal to Times Square. So guess what? If Secaucus costs the same as Times Square, people are going to choose to stay in Times Square."

"The only reason anyone ever stayed over here in the weeds, in the Meadowlands, was because it's cheaper," she continued. "All the corporations that own those Times Square hotels are benefiting, and we're sitting here with a bunch of empty hotel rooms."

Independent Secaucus hotel owner Raj Patel, who owns Harmony and Candlewood Suites, already said bookings are not anywhere close to the expectancy FIFA spent the past two years hyping. A quick Google search on Thursday showed that nearly all of the hotels in town have vacancies, and many of them lowered their rates back down to what they normally are: $159 a night for Meadowlands Plaza, $152 for Harmony Suites and $117 for the Hampton Inn in Carlstadt.

Hotels less than a mile from the stadium have vacancies right in the middle of the World Cup. There's another game at MetLife Sunday, July 5 and the World Cup final will be held there July 19.

"The only hotels in town that are fully booked for the World Cup are Aloft and Marriott," said Gonnelli. "We are the town right on the front lines of this. We're the town right next to the stadium. It's really disgusting. We've had to shell out money to host this game and we've gotten nothing back."

For every World Cup game, Secaucus Police were directed by State Police to patrol local roads, several of which the state ordered closed. Secaucus Police were also told to patrol the train station and monitor Uber/Lyft pick-up areas, which have been very crowded. The Secaucus Police Department is paying an average of $30,000 to $40,000 a day in overtime for officers to do that, said Gonnelli.

"The state shuts down these roads. Wherever State Police tell SPD to assign an officer, that's where we have to put officers," said Gonnelli. "I know our police department is paying $30,000 to $40,000 per game in overtime. In total, we've paid about $300,000 extra to host (the World Cup)."

Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller confirmed those numbers are accurate.

The New Jersey State Legislature allocated $40 million to the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) to reimburse local towns around the stadium for World Cup expenses, specifically overtime pay for local police officers.

Except all of that money will go to Bergen County towns, because the stadium is located in Bergen County.

Additionally, Congressman Josh Gottheimer secured $8.5 million in federal funding that will go to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office and State Police for the increased security, equipment and officer overtime. Of that money, Secaucus will be reimbursed $62,000 by the NJ State Police for helping staff six patrol posts for the games.

"It's not much," said Gonnelli. "I am calling (Congressman) Rob Menendez, Brian Stack, all over to get us more money."

"I'll tell you who's really making money from this: American Dream," said Gonnelli.

American Dream has held many successful watch parties for the games; they screen the games from their ice rink and their watch parties are always packed. But their real money maker is the parking: Thousands of soccer fans are paying $5 to park at American Dream, and walk on an overpass bridge to get to the stadium. They then walk back through the mall to get to their car to get home.

World Cup Overhyped, NJ Hotel Owner Says, As Hotels Report Fewer Than Expected Bookings (June 9)