Commentary
Fans travelling to the stadium in New Jersey are having to contend with high train fares, limited bus seats and a ban on walking or cycling, says Gregory Meyer from the Financial Times.
Norway vs Senegal match at New York New Jersey Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
26 Jun 2026 05:59AM
NEW YORK: The Maracana stadium, scene of the 2014 World Cup final, opens on to a neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro. Park paths surround the Moscow site where the 2018 championship was played. Reaching the gates of Lusail stadium in 2022 required a walk under the Qatar sun.Then there is this year’s venue. If you were considering a saunter to New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, think again: Walking and biking are “illegal”, according to local authorities.The site sits more than 6km from the nearest Manhattan river ferry at the edge of a densely populated New Jersey county whose finely grained street grid is lined by pavements. But while that grid was laid down in the late 19th century, the sports complex that surrounds the stadium was built in the car-dominated 20th century.The arena is hemmed in by high-speed freeways. A chain-link fence lines a concrete median to block would-be pedestrians from crossing the road. Signs inside hotels surrounding the stadium warn guests about the dangers of walking there.
