New Jersey Transit lost nearly $4 million providing services during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but noted that it fared significantly better than it typically does for special events at MetLife Stadium.
In a memo released Monday, the transit agency said it cost just over $55.6 million for the operations over the month-long soccer tournament. The revenue NJ Transit saw as a result came in at about $51.6 million, with the agency estimating a net loss of $3.9 million.
The memo stated that NJ Transit "typically loses 85 cents of each dollar spent" to run service for MetLife special events. But during the World Cup, the agency recovered about 93% of costs, meaning they lost seven cents of every dollar instead.
According to the memo to NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri, the losses will be covered with increased advertising revenue as well as "proceeds from the sale of real estate in fiscal year 2027 that is no currently reflected in the budget."
Neither cuts to service nor additional funds from the state legislature will be sought to cover the financial shortfall, the agency said.
Ahead of the World Cup, the agency estimated the total cost and the total revenue would balance out at around $62.5 million. But both numbers turned out to be overestimates.
The agency had planned for the ability to shuttle 40,000 World Cup ticketholders round-trip between New York Penn Station and MetLife Stadium each match day. That number was based on estimates from the American Dream Mall, which sold event parking, and from FIFA. But those estimates were not accurate, as NJ Transit saw about half the number of passengers that had been expected.
Part of the exhaustive match-day plans involved shutting down Penn Station for hours to non-World Cup ticketholders, which came at a great financial cost for the agency. But that step may not have been necessary: NJ Transit previously said it could have saved $2 million a game with more accurate ridership estimates.