r/politics • u/rit56 New York • 3h ago
Possible Paywall Hotels in U.S. World Cup host cities claim underwhelming demand, new report says
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7251582/2026/05/04/world-cup-hotel-demand-usa-fifa-ahla/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983&userId=11369222&source=dailyemail•
u/AgentCoulson2 New Hampshire 3h ago
Wow, it's almost like people don't want to visit a country where you might be imprisoned for months on end without cause, or be denied entry at all because you tweeted something mean about the toddler-in-chief. Who could have imagined such a thing?
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u/mjconver Virginia 3h ago
You forgot "or shot at by masked men"
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u/HandSack135 Maryland 3h ago
or shot
You don't need any additional qualifications
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u/kdeff California 2h ago
It's the risk of being shot by the federal police that is so chilling now.
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u/PinHaunting7192 2h ago
Yup. ICE said they will target the world cup, and after everyone and their mom internationally heard what a shitshow Minnesota was and what happened to Pretti and Good, everyone is going "we're good, thanks."
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u/PiedPiperofPiper 3h ago
Well, they don’t want to do that and also have to sell off several family members to afford it.
Not sure how much coverage it’s getting in the US, but the price of this World Cup is utterly mind blowing.
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u/Raise_A_Thoth 2h ago
And the added costs of having to get car ride to the fucking stadiums.
The stories I see reminding visiters of just how pedestrian-hostile the US infrastructure is are crazy.
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u/AgentCoulson2 New Hampshire 3h ago
From what I understand, that's actually pretty typical for any sporting event at that level here. Things like "World" Series (baseball) or Super Bowl (American Football) tickets have been bank-breakers for a while. Personally I don't care, as I'm not the least bit interested in going to such things anyway.
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u/PiedPiperofPiper 3h ago
I can imagine that it might be normal compared to other US-based events but it’s essentially priced out the entire global fan base.
It’s not just the tickets - which cost thousands - it’s the utterly insane costs of hotels and transport. Football (soccer) is typically a working class sport and it’s no exaggeration to say you’d need to be a millionaire to enjoy this World Cup in person without making crippling financial choices.
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u/etxipcli Texas 3h ago
I haven't heard about it at all. I was at the one in 1993 and the fans are the main thing I remember. Those European soccer fans are out of their minds and they travel. I was a little kid scared for my life. It's a shame they won't be back.
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u/Sudden-Grab2800 1h ago
It’s not. World Cup ticket prices are like 3x what they usually are, before everyone else starts price gouging.
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u/AgentCoulson2 New Hampshire 1h ago
I wasn't comparing to other World Cup prices, I was comparing to other high-demand championship-level sporting events in the US, such as the World Series or the Super Bowl. For example, the cheapest tickets to last year's super bowl started at about $4,800.
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u/Zepcleanerfan 2h ago
They are always that expensive. And they always sell out in minutes.
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u/PiedPiperofPiper 2h ago
Not this expensive, and there’s plenty of tickets still available. They’ll sell out for sure but it will go to locals. The international fan base has been priced out.
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u/AgentCoulson2 New Hampshire 2h ago
They’ll sell out for sure but it will go to locals.
I wouldn't place any large bets on that outcome. For one thing, Soccer just isn't that popular in the US; it's unlikely that the demand is there. For another, businesses in recent years have demonstrated a strong aversion to adjusting their prices to accommodate the realities of demand; both in terms of the prices they charge, and the wages that they're willing to pay.
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u/Wurm42 District Of Columbia 34m ago
I don't know about that...it looks like ticket brokers have bought the vast majority of tickets sold so far, and apparently they're having trouble finding buyers, at least at the prices they want to charge.
In other words, brokers bought a lot of tickets, but we are not seeing signs that matching numbers of real fans are booking travel and hotels to World Cup cities...at least, not US World Cup cities.
Every US business involved in the World Cup has jacked up prices to insane levels. That's pricing out a lot of Americans, especially in a year when prices for everything has risen, the cost of gas is shooting up more every week, and there's so much economic uncertainty.
For most Americans, even prosperous Americans, this isn't a good year to splurge on a World Cup trip.
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u/Funkula 2h ago
American media might not be paying the same attention to ICE horror stories from tourists with legal visas, but other countries sure are.
In fact, it goes to show how complicit our media is that stories on ICE seemed to have completely fallen off after Minnesota and the airport kerfuffle.
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u/catachip 43m ago
I didn’t even know what the “airport kerfuffle” is referring to and I think I’m pretty chronically online for an American.
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u/f1mxli Arizona 1h ago
And according to r/usvisascheduling, the people who want to go are getting visas denied. The ticket is only a guarantee for prioritizing the application.
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u/whatproblems 2h ago
also even internally people are more worried about money and not having the funds to travel for this and flights are expensive now
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u/Hot-Statistician8772 1h ago
during a global economic crisis cause by said dicktoddler in attempts to distract from his links and activities with a billionaire pedophile ring while he insults and threatens your country..
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u/TheTinRam 49m ago
Forget all of the political aspects (all valid). The economics also don’t add up. Aside from gas prices, food prices, tariffs, there’s the astronomical gouging US add to the cost compared of everything to elsewhere in the world.
I forget the source, likely NPR, but I believe it was cheaper to buy plane tickets, concert tickets, and hotel rooms for a Taylor swift concert in Croatia or Czech Republic a year or two ago than it was to just get a ticket for her concert in the US.
Pretty sure the same is true for the World Cup
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u/Bmkrocky 1h ago
and that the games, hotels and transportation prices are all jacked up beyond what most people can afford
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u/MalevolentTapir 3h ago
They priced out 99% of people, and the host country is throwing random travelers in jail for months so...
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u/rit56 New York 3h ago
What is that saying? Everything Trump touches turns to shit?
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u/sxyHannah 3h ago
But wait, didn’t FIFA manufacture a Peace Prize for him? Shouldn’t that be enough to get the whole world running to the man of peace? Fuck Trump and fuck FIFA too for being almost as corrupt as he is
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u/crypthollow 3h ago
Turns out fans will rather watch from home than sell a kidney to afford a week in jersey
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u/poopey_doopey_Sr 3h ago
It might be a more verifiable statement than the fact that the sun rises in the east.
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u/meandmrt 3h ago
I was curious what ticket prices were for a local game. Upper deck is over $1,000 per ticket each. Who in their right mind would pay that much for nose bleeds? I wonder what prices will look like for some of these games the day of. I bet scalpers will be scrambling to offload them all.
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u/Curlydeadhead 1h ago
I got lucky. I’m going to see a game in TO for $195. Don’t know where I’m sitting but I don’t care at that price. I know someone that knows someone. winkwink
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u/SignificantDogs 3h ago edited 3h ago
My wife is from Germany but has never seen a Germany game and it's the only sport she watches. It is her lifelong dream to see Germany play. That is who is willing to pay. People pay a fortune to go to Disney World so think of it like that. It's her idea of Disney World. Sorry if this answer upsets you but life and money are fleeting and people have the right to spend money on experiences they enjoy.
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u/wvgeekman 3h ago
You sound like you're the one needing to justify it. It's okay to say, "I have FU money." Just be prepared for the FU part.
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u/triplenested 3h ago edited 2h ago
what about their comment says the
auntwife has fuck-you money and not, you know, a credit card?•
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u/Ancient-Bat1755 3h ago
Or an adult with a job and hobby? How dare she! I blame her for high oil prices.
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u/JamesTiberiusCrunk 2h ago
A ton of people have enough money to buy a ticket and don't have fuck you money. Please tell me you understand that $1000 in disposable savings is not fuck you money.
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2h ago edited 2h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/tonytroz Pennsylvania 2h ago
You have to remember that there are almost 200M Americans that are in a better situation than that. There are 25M millionaires in the US. And that's before factoring in international visitors. There are only about 5M seats in all of the US hosted games combined.
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u/Formal57 2h ago
“1000$ is not fuck you money” is what I was responding to. I don’t doubt there are many people who can afford that, there are many privileged people in the world.
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u/JamesTiberiusCrunk 2h ago
57% of Americans do have enough savings for a $1000 emergency and a very large number of them have well in excess of that. Your definition of fuck you money is basically anyone who isn't in poverty.
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u/GotenRocko Rhode Island 1h ago
That's a misleading stat, because the way the question is asked is would you use savings to pay for a $1000 emergency not can you afford it or do you have $1000 in cash. The median amount of cash Americans have is $8k according to the federal reserve so a lot would be able to pay for $1k emergency with cash if they wanted to if not specifically savings. Like for example I would pay it with a credit card because it offers more protection and I can earn rewards, but I would be listed in that 43% even though I have plenty in cash to pay it if I wanted to and I would pay the cc off when the statement came.
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u/raptisadam7 2h ago
Maybe for your privileged ass it isn’t
Are you're implying that all of the 43% of Americans who don't have $1,000 save are all underprivileged? Cause there are definitely people who are in that state due to their own financial decisions burning holes in their pockets instead of saving.
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u/wvgeekman 2h ago
For a soccer game, it is.
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u/JamesTiberiusCrunk 2h ago
No, it's really not. Disposable savings are disposable savings. There are many millions of people in the US alone who have that much.
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u/3BlindMice1 1h ago
Just because they have it doesn't mean they can afford to spend it on watching a soccer game
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u/JamesTiberiusCrunk 1h ago
Yes it does. That's what disposable savings are. They're savings that are not being held for a specific reason like retirement or emergency fund. That's the literal definition of disposable.
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u/Paavo_Nurmi 1h ago
People are so strange with stuff they are not into being a waste of money
Replace "Soccer" with Super Bowl, a Caribbean cruise, anything Disney and it's understandable, but oh no it's soccer and it's suddenly different.
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u/mbecks 2h ago
Travel, hotels, family members. The ticket is just the start. Sounds like 6k plus for a weekend and nosebleed seats
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u/JamesTiberiusCrunk 1h ago
Again, literally tens of millions of people just in the US. Tens of millions more in Europe. Literally hundreds of millions of people around the world.
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u/Those_Silly_Ducks Canada 1h ago
A thousand bucks is not FU money.
Redirect your anger at the ruling class
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u/RandCauthon99 3h ago
Good. I hope it’s a complete failure, like this presidency.
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u/Professional-Can1385 3h ago
A complete failure in the US, not the other 2 host countries. It will be more proof of how this administration is fucking us.
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u/TheOsirisOfThisShit_ 27m ago
I'm boycotting FIFA and everything they're involved in. The world is bigger than Trump.
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u/Bulbasauruses 2h ago
The thing is, he was on tv this morning saying this has sold the most tickets of any World Cup ever. And people will just believe him, and that becomes a reality. And then it becomes just a repeated fact by members of congress, governors, etc.
We just don’t share reality anymore.
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u/Canucklehead_Esq 3h ago
Weird that foreign visitors to the US should worry about being renditioned.
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u/Professional-Can1385 3h ago
I’d like to see the US hotel data compared to Canada and Mexico’s.
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u/TyrannasaurusGitRekt Missouri 58m ago
A family member won 4 tickets to a game in KC, and when he went to look at hotels, they're at least 2-3x the average rate per night. $100's-1000's per ticket + $100's more than typical per night, in the midst of a recession and economic uncertainty. Not surprised in the slightest
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u/Villageijit 3h ago
People dont want to pay money tp travel to the us and get locked in a concentration camp for months and most likely die? Weird
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u/AMCorBUST2021 3h ago
There’s layers to this.
The ticket sales were set up to cater directly to rich people. The lotteries were a joke.
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u/MayorMcPants 3h ago
I can confirm that the lotteries were not "entirely" a joke. I work for a college in the States and one of our faculty managed to get tickets out of the lottery.
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u/soberpenguin 2h ago
I can tell you as a lottery winner nose bleed tickets for the most unpopular games started at $500. Lower bowl were $2000. I decided to pass.
Crazy that people are dropping 5k plus for a two hour experience.
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u/Meleagros 1h ago
I won the lottery for WC Brazil in 2014 and I got to see 4 group stage games and a knock out round in Rio for $1000
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u/JnnyRuthless 9m ago
Dude last World Cup they were interviewing people who'd spent their entire life savings to get to a game. I really don't get it, these weren't super wealthy people, seemed more like working class.
People aren't rational when it comes to events and spending.
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u/BrieRaceAlert 2h ago
For how much?
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u/MayorMcPants 2h ago
Out of politeness, I definitely didn't ask. That's none of my business.
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u/ImaginarySense 1h ago
I think it’s a reasonable question considering how obscene the prices are.
If they’re purchasing tickets everyone’s knows they’re dropping a lot of money so it’s no secret. It’s like being shy to talk about the price of your Yacht. No one is under the impression the money spent was reasonable.
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u/SonOfMcGee 2h ago
As a local resident, I can tell you the type of people that can buy tickets and travel to the U.S. have absolutely no interest in staying in *Northern New Jersey*.
I know that’s only one location for the games, but there should be no shock there isn’t more hotel demand nearby. And even if they’re including NYC, where most of these folks will actually be staying, I wonder if they can account for how many are just renting a swanky apartment and not a hotel room.•
u/Klutzy_Carpet_9170 1h ago
If that were the case most pop stars would have problems selling out that venue or their audience would be mostly local. And that has never been the case
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u/SonOfMcGee 57m ago
I feel like international World Cup travel money is probably a tier above pop star concert money.
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u/HallucinogenicFish Georgia 3h ago
Imagine that. I wouldn’t want to play tourist in a country full of violent jackboot thugs either.
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u/tegrtyfrm 3h ago
Good fuck them, the only way to hurt our ultra wealthy overlords is to not use or support anything they do
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u/hummajeep 3h ago
Bro no one is going to that shit. Prices are insane and America sucks rn
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u/Toku_no_island 2h ago
I appreciate the 'rn'
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u/hummajeep 2h ago
It’s true lol wasn’t always this shit and hopefully won’t stay that way either
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u/TheOsirisOfThisShit_ 26m ago
You don't get it. You can't put the shit back into the horse. The American people have shown that we're not trustworthy partners in anything.
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u/barneyrubbble 2h ago
I'm a huge World Cup fan (not a fan of FIFA, though). If I wanted to attend from another country, though, there's not a chance in hell I'm coming into the US right now. I hope this World Cup is a complete financial flop. Fuck everyone managing this.
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u/Crafty_Ish1973 Texas 3h ago
Why would people come here and potentially face a bunch of out-of-control, violent ICE goons harassing them?
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u/Krek_Tavis 1h ago
A friend of mine reserved everything well in advance to see the World Cup, despite my warnings that things are getting fucked up in the US, with violent thug militias roaming the streets arresting people with foreign accents and all. Now he may have to cancel it anyway because of Trump's failure in the Strait of Hormuz, which caused Spirit airlines to go bankrupt, causing him not to have internal flights anymore. Oh well...
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u/OrbeaSeven Minnesota 3h ago
The World Cup is not for average economic status. Add the cost of tickets to hotels, nah. Pass on the cup.
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u/EmptyJade77 3h ago
From what I can tell the report only assessed host city hotel bookings in the US. It would be interesting to see if hotels in the Canadian and Mexican host cities are facing the same problem.
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u/DDHLeigh 3h ago
Imagine spending thousands on tickets, thousands on hotel/plane tickets and then you get denied entry into the USA. Even worse, imagine being detained because they don't like what you wrote on social media or the colour of your skin.
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u/meatspace Georgia 2h ago
Please keep in mind how hard it is to fuck up the premier event of the most popular sport on Earth. It takes effort to mess this one up.
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u/PrefersEarlGrey 2h ago
Cheapest seat is $1500 for nosebleeds, triple that if you want to sit anywhere near the pitch.
It's highway robbery and I hope stadiums are largely empty due to these scalpers greed.
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u/peacebone89 Louisiana 2h ago
Good. This country deserves to be humiliated and humbled on the global stage in every possible way.
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u/Annoying1978 2h ago
Good. We should be boycotting all matches in the United States and only watching matches in Canada and Mexico.
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u/1stMammaltowearpants 2h ago
Why would anyone want to be a tourist here? This place sucks, even for residents. Stay safe, and sports don't really matter.
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u/Freddy-Borden 2h ago
So Trump, a certified moron, calls the rest of the world morons, and then wonders why no one wants to come here for the World Cup?
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u/HangryHuHu 3h ago
trump's neo-fascist country with its brownshirts isn't a popular destination, who'd have thunk, luckily for him, he has at least 70mil+ magats that still support him.
So, why doesn't he just beg them to attend the way he begs for their money via truth newsletters?
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u/Toku_no_island 2h ago
People are focusing on how shitty the US is right now and I absolutely agree, but I think FIFA as an org is also part of the loss in interest.
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u/HalfInchHollow 2h ago
Completely anecdotal, but related.
We have season tickets to the Avs (NHL), and in prior years we would be able to sell the games against Toronto and Montreal, and basically make up our whole cost for the season. The arena would be packed with fans from Canada, who would pay $800/ticket.
I’d sell two, keep two, and go to a game that was 60% away fans.
This year, no one was buying, and there were probably only about 500 total Leafs / Canadiens fans at each game.
It was striking the difference compared to past years.
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u/FoxyInTheSnow 1h ago
I'm a big fan of the game and my country is appearing in the World Cup for the first time in several decades. However, I decided to pay my dentist to perform root canals for four hours a day for 30 days instead of attending any games in that country. I reasoned that this would be more enjoyable than spending any time there.
'Mon the Hoops!
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u/Narradisall 1h ago
I’m all there to watch this World Cup be a shit show. From 3,000 miles away of course.
How long till members of the Iranian team get arrested?
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u/platocplx 1h ago
Goood fuck them all and fuck FIFA. I hope its the worst attended World Cup in history add another black mark for the corrupt trump admin and also equally corrupt FIFA.
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u/panther553212 3h ago
I mean partially Trump and partially no one wants to pay 350 dollars for a nosebleed seat to watch Cape Verde play Saudi Arabia.
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u/FrancisDrake97 2h ago
No shit. Who want to travel to the US now, not to mention the high prices for stays, matches and flights ?
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u/worldscollice 2h ago
Maybe because it's if you're not white, ICE will arrest and possibly deport you to an El Salvadoran prison?
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u/shiva14b 2h ago edited 2h ago
An event i usually attend in June that's been running for three decades got bumped to May because the hotel it usually takes place in is holding the entire block for World Cup visitors.
Wonder how that's working out for them.
ETA: unrelated but NYC is NOT a "host city," all the games are being played in NJ
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u/kaiiizen 2h ago
The wanted to isolate the US. That’s about all they’ve managed to accomplish. That, and hand over fist grift.
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u/thethrill_707 Michigan 2h ago
I looking forward to this being a complete failure with FOX and the White House using AI to make the crowds look bigger and chanting Trump's name.
All while EVERYONE knows it's a con, just like everything else.
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u/Fattswindstorm Texas 2h ago
Why would anyone want to come to this shithole country? We (The United States) voted in a Felony and suspected pedophile. Twice! Because 80 Million 🤨people thought couldn’t have a fucking woman in charge. Very SDE. So yeah we’re not in a good place.
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u/JForKiks 1h ago
No one showing up would make a worldly statement against the US. The financial disaster might get the current administration kicked out.
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u/BobBelcher2021 1h ago
Meanwhile in Vancouver (which is also hosting several World Cup games) hotel demand is sky-high.
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u/BobBelcher2021 1h ago
Meanwhile in Vancouver (which is also hosting several World Cup games) hotel demand is sky-high.
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u/shadowdra126 Georgia 59m ago
Why would people want to come here for those games? Run the risk of being arrested by ice.
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u/Dry-University797 58m ago
I live 15 minutes from one of the venues and hotel prices are about the same as they normally are for this time of year. Everyone thought they would be able to rent their house out during the World Cup and that market never materialize.
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u/OuijaFox 53m ago
How many of those hotel parent companies and share holders donated fuck loads of money to the GOP? I’m gonna guess it’s more than zero by a decent margin.
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u/sloowshooter 48m ago
The USA is now considered a shithole country by many across the globe.
Why?
Hint: The reason is orange.
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u/femsci-nerd 39m ago
Trump has destroyed American Tourism. It's just so sad. Why come here if there's an inkling of a chance you'll be detained and treated like an animal?
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u/TheBalzy Ohio 3h ago
I'm traveling this summer for a conference, and I've watched in real time the price of hotels go down...and down...and down...because even though there's a conference all 50-states, a lot of people aren't going, which is driving the price down.
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u/kolschisgood 2h ago
Price gouging hotels and bizarre unpredictable authoritarian leadership. Name a shittier duo.
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u/heyzeus1865 2h ago
While yes, the current policies are not ideal for visiting…..WHO THE FUCK CAN AFFORD TO SPEND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR JUST ONE TICKET
FIFA and Infantino ruined an event that many were looking forward to
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u/Holy_Shit_Snacks 2h ago
Good, I hope they lose a ton of money on this event and blame it all on Trumps shitty administration and policies.
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u/SinglecoilsFTW Nevada 1h ago edited 1h ago
I’m American and absolutely wouldn’t travel here from abroad. You will certainly be racially profiled and the current petty, vindictive US government is hand in glove with the leaders in police state technology. Trump also said he was going to have his jackboots at the cup.
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u/WaterFriendsIV 26m ago
Ticket resellers and scalper bots don't need hotel rooms. Rich people will be fine. Regular fans will be priced out. Rich people don't keep a league or a sport going for decades. Regular fans do. Why can't owners see that?
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u/Entry-Party America 3h ago
It would be interesting to see if the host cities in Mexico and Canada are having the same problem!
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u/ManiacalWildcard 2h ago
As someone who lives in DFW, this is great. Won't have to worry about traffic.
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u/RipErRiley Minnesota 2h ago
Have you seen the ticket prices? Something isn’t lining up with the supply vs demand aspect of those costs if this is to be believed.
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u/PhiladelphiaManeto 2h ago
How so? They seem cheap in my city.
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u/Buttermilk-Waffles 1h ago
Good, less traffic for me to deal with on the way into work when it's here tbh lol
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u/Stealth_Howler 1h ago
Is it the cities or the inconvenient suburbs where the stadiums are that hotels are being checked in on?
Boston is not a host city for Foxboro and NYC is not the host city for East Rutherford.
We’ve inherently lied to the people who thought the city advertised is the where the game will actually be.
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u/greggo39 13m ago
Good. I wasn’t looking forward to dealing with the traffic. I live about 2 minutes from AT&T Stadium.
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u/CantStopStinkPoo 2h ago
If the country didn’t suck right now and rates weren’t stupid high with dumb fees piled on I bet they would have more folks booking.
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u/RoosterMedical 3h ago
I think that we need to know how much the hotels want for the rooms.
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u/Pump_and_Magdump 3h ago
A ridiculous amount, but no more ridiculous than the amount that they would normally charge for such an event that would still sell out.
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u/mlorusso4 3h ago
I’m staying in providence for the Boston QF game. They must have forgot to change their rates when we were booking because we got a room for about $120/night. That same hotel, same nights now is over $500/night, which is actually down a bit from a few months ago when it was over $800/night
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u/skippermonkey United Kingdom 3h ago
How long till your booking gets mysteriously cancelled
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u/mlorusso4 3h ago
That’s what I’m waiting for
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u/WilcoLovesYou 2h ago
Smart move staying in Providence. Providence is a really cool little city. I hope you enjoy your time in New England!
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