It appears FIFA has made its pick for the hosting duties of the 2026 World Cup final — and it doesn’t look good for the Garden State.
While MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford was believed to be a finalist for the game, reports published Thursday indicated that the global soccer organization has instead opted for AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which is just outside of Dallas.
MetLife will be the site for a portion of the games during the 2026 men’s tournament as the New Jersey/New York host location — but which ones are still unknown.
Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday that he didn’t know for certain when a decision was to be made but expected it to come soon and, at the time, thought MetLife was still in the running for the final.
The governor’s office had no comment on Thursday and deferred all questions to FIFA, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gov. Murphy earlier this week:Decision on FIFA final at MetLife Stadium coming in ‘a matter of weeks’
Stadiums selected for the World Cup could range from 40,000 seats for group and early-stage games of the tournament to an 80,000-seat minimum for the opening and final matches. The semifinal venue must have a capacity of 60,000, according to the 2026 bidding guide.
MetLife Stadium, which hosted the Copa America final in 2016 and will host three games for the CONMEBOL Copa América 2024 tournament this summer, has a capacity of more than 82,000. Taking standing room capacity into consideration, AT&T could house more than 100,000 ticketed attendees.
Coming this summer:Here are Copa América 2024 matchups for MetLife Stadium
There are 16 venues that will host soccer matches at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Prep work for the biggest sporting event in the world will be the responsibility of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and its board of commissioners. The authority is responsible for operations at the MetLife Sports Complex, including the stadium that houses the Jets and Giants.
In 2022, the authority received $30 million in taxpayer funds to plan designs and upgrades at MetLife Stadium and the surrounding property. That will include a contract worth nearly $16 million — $15,989,722 exactly — for expansion of the stadium.
In addition to the expansion work, that $30 million includes $5 million for the host committee in the form of a revolving loan and $669,497 that has been paid to the stadium for reimbursement of costs related to design and pre-construction work.
There will also be $35 million being spent by NJ Transit for designs on transit systems to serve the venue.
Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com
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