(The Center Square) – New York and New Jersey officials are boasting about the economic impact from hosting World Cup matches this summer, but critics point out that the rosy projections gloss over local transportation and security costs.
A report released Wednesday by Tourism Economics, a private tracking company, estimated that the $1.9 billion in direct spending during the tournament “rippled out” to $3.5 billion in total economic activity, factoring in “indirect and induced” effects. More than 645,000 fans attended the region’s eight matches, including the July 19 final between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium.
Another 626,300 non-local visitors traveled to New York or New Jersey for Official Fan Events and related programming, according to the report.
The host committee had predicted 1.2 million visitors and $3.3 billion in economic activity tied to the tournament, which was played in venues across the United States, Mexico, and Canada over several months.
The sporting event supported 27,424 jobs, according to the report, while state and local governments generated $414.2 million in tax revenue, most of it from increased sales-tax collections.
Combined, visitors pumped $1.7 billion into the regional economy; the Host Committee, FIFA, and other stakeholders added another $286 million in operational spending, the report’s authors said.
“The final numbers demonstrate that New York and New Jersey didn’t just rise to the occasion – we exceeded expectations and delivered an impact that will be felt long after the final whistle,” Alex Lasry, CEO of the NY/NJ World Cup Host Committee, said in a statement.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the World Cup “has left a lasting impact on the state” from “increased spending at local businesses and restaurants to higher hotel revenues” and said she wants New Yorkers to “continue to reap the benefits.”
“Our mission was to welcome the world to New York, while making sure that every New Yorker had the chance to participate in and benefit from this once-in-a-generation event,” Hochul said in a statement. “And that’s exactly what we did.”
New York and New Jersey shelled out an estimated $245 million combined to stage the tournament, according to state and city records, but that wasn’t included in the economic impact estimates.
And critics have pointed out that the rosy $3.5 billion figure comes mostly from private-sector spending on hotels, rental properties, and restaurants, and glosses over the real impact on local budgets that has left taxpayers in cities and towns near the World Cup venues to foot the security and transportation costs.
In New York City, officials estimate that the city’s taxpayers footed the bill for roughly $90 million in municipal expenses related to the World Cup, including $12 million for NYPD security and $20 million to the Host Committee, while projecting about $51 million in tax revenue.
New York City Comptroller Mark Levine has estimated the city’s costs at $70 million with about $55 million in expected revenue, though the Mamdani administration has argued that estimate didn’t include spending by visitors on hotels, car rentals and food and other economic impacts that offset the city’s costs.
