World Cup organizers in Boston and Philadelphia are asking fans without tickets to avoid coming to the stadium on match days.
“The people who should come to Gillette on game day are the people who have tickets to the event,” said Jim Nolan, COO of Kraft Sports and Entertainment, on Wednesday. So if you don’t have a ticket, don’t come to Gillette.
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Boston and Philadelphia were two of the cities involved in the World Cup scandal last month, with Boston organizers having an open meeting with FIFA and announcing that the stadium would be closed “per FIFA policy.” FIFA has strongly denied that such a policy exists, and Boston eventually said back-tying would be allowed.
On Wednesday Nolan said Boston promoters “allow 100% attendance at all FIFA games, but again, that’s for the ticket holders.”
FIFA’s requirements for larger defensive perimeters than NFL games eat into space used for parking and entertainment. Philadelphia has more than 21,000 parking spaces in its sports complex; it is not yet clear how many will be there during the World Cup. Boston organizers said Gillette will have only 5,000 parking spaces available for the football tournament, far from the 20,000 open for Patriots games. (Fans who still want to drive can join one of the 5,000 “satellite locations” over the nearest highway.)
While the follow-up story was circulating, Philadelphia organizers at the time seemed to suggest that tailgating would continue as usual, with fans welcome to drink and grill in the large South Philadelphia parking lot surrounding the stadium there. A spokesman for the Eagles said The Philadelphia Inquirer that the game day experience “will complement all the big ticket events we host at Lincoln Financial Field.” A statement from the management committee at the time said “plans for the fan experience are still being finalised,” but the club was determined to celebrate the city’s “matchday tradition”.
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“Philadelphia is a city defined by its fans and its culture, and that will not change when the world comes to the FIFA World Cup 2026,” the statement said.
Now, local organizers are clarifying that fans will need to have a ticket to the game in order to retreat outside the stadium, and those without tickets will need to attend the free Fan Fest in Lemon Hill—an entirely different part of town.
“It’s a change for the people of Philadelphia to know that this is not like a traditional Eagles game, where there are 25,000 people who don’t have tickets, and they’re here for that part of the party,” Meg Kane, CEO of Philadelphia Soccer 2026, said Wednesday.
Philadelphia hosts one of the largest Fan Fest events of any World Cup host city, with one celebration covering all 39 days of the tournament. Many other host cities have split their Fan Fests into smaller regional viewing groups, reduced the number of days the central event can take place, or charged fees to reduce costs. The city discourages fans from driving by requiring special parking permits near the Fan Fest site and expanding bus service.
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“For those who don’t have tickets, we would like you to follow the trail in Lemon Hill, if you like, but don’t have cars,” said Kane. “The ultimate pedestrian experience.”
Nolan similarly encouraged fans to attend Boston’s Fan Fest instead of coming to the stadium. “There are many ways to celebrate, we just request that people do not come here,” he said.
Narrowing down ticketed fans is one way organizers can try to avoid a repeat of last summer’s Copa América final at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, a security disaster in which ticketless fans stormed the stadium gates, delaying the game and leading to dozens of arrests, including the president of Colombia’s soccer federation.
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