While the FIFA World Cup 26 is more than two years away from descending on the area, preparations are well underway to ensure the region – and its businesses – are ready for the world’s largest sporting event.

The buzz is certainly growing following the February announcement that MetLife Stadium will host the World Cup 26 Final in addition to seven matches in June and July 2026. Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia will host six tournament matches – adding to the tourism boost that will be felt throughout the Garden State.

There is no shortage of details that need to be taken care of before the tournament, which organizers and stakeholders have been grappling with. And there has been a concerted effort to help coordinate and communicate with the business community to ensure that owners and executives understand the rules and processes to maximize the opportunity this once-in-a-lifetime moment offers.

A recent event held by the Meadowlands Chamber and Convention Visitors Bureau encapsulated that sentiment. The organization used its annual Mdest24! event to present a focused agenda for members and stakeholders about preparation for the tournament and how businesses can best serve visitors – while avoiding any potential pitfalls along the way.

“Today’s topic and the areas that we’ll cover are – just a little to wet your whistle,” said Meadowlands Chamber President and CEO Jim Kirkos, as he kicked off the March 22 event before a packed house at the Meadowlands Chamber headquarters in Lyndhurst. “This is to kick off the excitement about the World Cup 2026 that it will bring for us to this region. We feel our obligation is to make sure you, our stakeholders, are aware of everything that’s going on. And that’s what today is all about.”

“I’d like to thank the Meadowlands Chamber for organizing this great event – and preparing local businesses to maximize profits during the FIFA World Cup 2026,” said Paul Juliano, president and CEO of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. “I would also like to give a special thanks to the New York New Jersey 2026 World Cup Host Committee. The Host Committee is leading the way in ensuring that the region is prepared to deliver an amazing experience to the more than 1 million guests expected to visit.”

In addition to those 1 million guests, FIFA World Cup 26 is projected to bring more than $2 billion in economic impact and 14,000-plus jobs to the region.

Getting there

Beyond looking ahead at what needs to be done to prepare for tournament, the Chamber event also offered an opportunity to look back at past major events, such as the Super Bowl in 2014, WrestleMania and more, to take lessons learned and carry them forward.

The first panel, Mobility is a Must!, examined the Super Bowl and how stakeholders are planning for the World Cup.

“Right now, we have a lot of new buses. We also have some rail cars coming,” said NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin Corbett. “We have a full complement of engineers, train crews, bus operators. We’re in a really good position.”

“There’s no doubt, really, that you have seen significant improvement,” Corbett added. “And I think where you saw that – and FIFA certainly did – but transit was a big part of winning it.”

Corbett touted efforts made by the agency during recent high-profile concerts by Taylor Swift, Beyonce, K-Pop stars and others – noting that the success of those shows illustrated NJ Transit’s progress. “We are going to bring the best world standards,” Corbett stressed. “We are going to make sure that we not just do a good job – but that we make this the best from the transportation side.”

Michelle Petelicki, CEO, Panorama Tours, emphasized how public and private partnerships can assist with World Cup transportation.

“We supplement transit as best as we can. We try to go to the underutilized markets in order to try to move them to the hubs – to provide further transportation,” said Petelicki. “And we’re essentially here as a support – and that’s we hope to do moving forward with the World Cup.”

Advertisers, beware

The second panel focused on welcoming the international market, including how to best serve and attract guests who will travel from around the world, as well as international business practices and potential legal pitfalls in dealing with the strict guidelines and protocols from soccer‘s governing body, FIFA.

“I’m here to talk about sports law, which implicates all sorts of things like employment law and trademark law and other aspects of intellectual property,” said William Heller, of counsel, Genova Burns. “Think about all of the employment law issues that permeate our society today – and about which your businesses likely have been trained; about how to treat people; about microaggression; and things of that nature. When we have all of the international visitors coming to our shores, we have to keep those same principles in mind. These are people who are not used to our culture, especially the New Jersey and New York brand of our culture.”

Then, Heller, who was a longtime general counsel and senior vice president for the New York Giants, dove into the issue of trademarks and IP. “If you think the NFL is nuts about its logo, and the words ‘Super Bowl’ – you ain’t seen nothing yet,” said Heller. “Because FIFA is the same. And if, in your efforts to capitalize off of the World Cup, you blindly use the words or the trademark – FIFA, or even World Cup – you may get a letter and you may have to hire really good lawyers to explain to this internationally based organization that you didn’t mean it or that it’s a fair use. But, believe me, with my experience in the NFL, it’s not a pleasant experience.”

“Be heads up – if you are going to be advertising for the World Cup or FIFA, be careful how you use those terms. Don’t depict trophies or the like without understanding the consequences of using someone else’s trademark, logo or pictures,” said Heller. “But there are many opportunities for businesses as well – in the nature of sponsorships – and I urge you to consider sponsorships. I’m not here to sell for the Host Committee. I’m here to refer you to the Host Committee – because the Host Committee is seeking sponsors, like yourself.”

‘A New York New Jersey experience’

The final panel, moderated by Kirkos, featured a discussion with Bruce Revman, co-host city manager of NYNJFWC26 Host Committee; Jeff Vasser, executive director of the New Jersey Office of Travel and Tourism; and Stephen Sansonese, senior director of facility operations & events at MetLife Stadium, who offered their perspectives from those different aspects of the preparation efforts.

“While we were blessed to receive the final about five or six weeks ago, the work had already begun,” said Revman, who said he received a lot of texts saying, “well now the work begins.” “No, no, no, Lauren [LaRusso, co-host city manager, who was unable to attend the event] and I have been working on this since 2019. The work had begun a long time ago. We’re setting up committees across the river.”

Revman explained that there have been preparation efforts in this vein for transportation, security, marketing and more. “Everything we do is about a New York New Jersey experience. It’s not just for New York. It’s not just for New Jersey,” said Revman. “It’s New York New Jersey. And I want everybody to understand that that work had begun a long time ago. What the final did – is it was really the frosting on the cake.”

“It’s different this time than it was at Super Bowl,” said Kirkos. “It is different – and Bruce, I can’t thank you enough because in order for us to make this great, it does have to be a New York New Jersey event. And you’ve been really awesome in making sure that it’s about that – New York New Jersey. The fact of the matter is we would not have gotten the World Cup Final or maybe even a venue if we were not next to the greatest city in the world. That’s just a fact. We have to understand that. So combining with Bruce and New York – that’s what will make this a win-win for everybody.”

“The marriage is undeniable. It is a great marriage. I use the term ‘unity in purpose’ because that’s what this is about,” said Revman. “The river does not divide us. We have bridges over those rivers. And we use them quite a bit.”

Revman then spoke about the scale of this event, which will be the largest World Cup tournament yet – spanning three countries, 16 host cities and featuring 48 nations in 104 matches over 40 days.

“Unlike the Super Bowl, come June 11 to July 19, there will be something going on in this area almost every single day – that’s pretty cool,” said Revman.

Vasser reiterated a word that was used throughout the program – opportunity. “What a huge opportunity this state has for tourism. This is a great opportunity for all of us to show the whole world what New Jersey is, what we have to offer, and what a great place it is to visit and to live, to work, and to play,” said Vassar. “This goes beyond just the time that the World Cup is here. It goes beyond the Revolutionary War celebration that we’re going to be basically overlaying over World Cup. But this is going to last for years. When people come to visit, they are going to see what we have to offer. They are going to say, ‘Hey I didn’t have a chance to see it all.’ And they are going to want to come back. They are going to recognize that New Jersey is right at New York City’s doorstep – the No. 1 gateway city in our country. So, let’s take advantage of the fact that we are right there. Let’s take advantage of the fact that Philadelphia is right on the border of southern New Jersey. So, this is a great opportunity.”

Stadium prep

Sansonese spoke a bit about the efforts underway at MetLife Stadium to ready the venue for the World Cup, a responsibility he is tasked with.

He explained the years-long bidding process to become a host venue – and, eventually, land the final. “In June ’22, we were officially selected [as a Host City]. From there, we can actually start planning and allocating resources. Since 2017, in our head – it was always that we are going to host the final,” he said. “So, every bit of our planning went directly toward that. Part of the stipulations of hosting the Final was what we’re doing right now at the stadium – is having a pitch that was big enough for FIFA’s requirements, which is 68 meters wide with a 5-meter run-off on each side – and then 110 meters in length. Currently, if you’ve been to a soccer match at MetLife, our pitch is only 64 meters wide.”

Beginning in 2018, Sansonese said the stadium engaged with Skanska, which oversaw the original construction, about ways to extend the pitch to FIFA’s specifications while making its own events still work.

Over the last few years, the sides have worked together and come up with a design and plan of implementation.

“We broke ground this January on the East Side expansion. Because the expansion takes a little bit of time, we had to divide it up into phases. We did the East Side in 2024 and we are going to do the West Side next spring in 2025,” Sansonese explained. “Not to get too technical, we’re breaking apart part of our seating bowl, which is precast seats. We are widening it on the East Side right now by 10 rows in some sections – four rows in other sections. So, we’re moving all of them – and then Skanska has the job of building it back. We obviously have to get seats that we can easily take out to have a World Cup Final. We’ll doing be the same thing on the West Side next spring.”

He also noted an important logistical nugget regarding outside the stadium. “The other big thing is planning with FIFA on the overlay of the FIFA World Cup. An event like that, it gets built out pretty well,” Sansonese explained. “If you’re familiar with the Super Bowl, not only do you use your stadium – but you use basically all of your property to host the event. So, one of the big things right now with overlay, we’re figuring out how the stadium’s perimeter is going to go.”

Sansonese continued, explaining that this will not be a typical situation for entering the event like a Giants or Jets game or concert – where you go to the gate, do your security screening, ticket scan and are in. “The World Cup won’t be like that. We are going to set up a perimeter that goes out to what we call our outer loop road, which is beyond the initial ring of parking lots in the stadium. We’ll build a fence line right there. It will have checkpoints, access points to the stadium,” said Sansonese. “And you’ll get your security screening there. From there, you’ll be in Lot G, F, or D – and that is now part of the stadium experience for FIFA. Our regular gates will just be wide-open. So, when you get to them, you’re just walking in. It’s a quite significant footprint.”

The stadium efforts will also include the construction of a media compound, a broadcast center, an accreditation center, and more.

“There’s seven to eight buildings that have to get built for the FIFA World Cup,” said Sansonese. “The footprint is very significant.”

“We need to continue to collaborate with you. We need your engagement with us,” said Kirkos. “We will make sure that we have that close connection and collaboration with the New Jersey Office of Travel and Tourism, to the Host Committee, to the stadium – as we have in the past. And as I said before, we will be that conduit of information to you.”