Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced New Jersey will fund events around the state in an effort to spread the economic benefits of World Cup games held in Philadelphia and East Rutherford this summer, as lagging hotel reservations raise new questions about what gains the games will bring.
New Jersey will disburse $5 million in grants to 34 organizations to hold one-time events like watch parties or concerts and multi-day festivals and other events tied to the soccer tournament.
“Hosting the World Cup is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” Sherrill said at a press conference in Pennsauken. “It’s going to bring revenue to our small businesses and local vendors who can really see the economic impact. It’s going to draw businesses from around the world. It’s going to bring communities together all over the state, so we’re going to make the most of it and host a world-class party for everyone.”
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New Jersey will host eight World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford this June and July. The grants, announced in February, will fund a gamut of events meant to boost tourism spending or engagement with World Cup matches in far-flung corners of the state.
They include an esports tournament ending in Atlantic City, an R&B concert in Newark, a soccer festival on Camden’s waterfront, a soccer science symposium at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, and numerous World Cup watch parties, among more than a dozen other events.
In some cases, funding will go to events that local officials have been planning for years, said Evan Weiss, CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
“What we’re trying to do is add gasoline to really leverage and empower what was already happening,” he said.
The announcement comes as lawmakers and other officials grow wary about the economic benefits the games will bring to New Jersey. A recent report by the American Hotel and Lodging Association found soft demand for hotel rooms in World Cup host cities.
Roughly two-thirds of New York hotels polled by the industry group said their bookings tracked regular summer demand, falling short of the World Cup surge they had expected. In Philadelphia, about three-quarters of those polled said bookings actually lagged a typical summer.
“Many respondents describe the tournament as a ‘non-event’ in these cities, citing late FIFA room releases and weak international fan travel as the dominant concerns across markets,” the report says
Still, South Jersey business officials welcomed events to boost World Cup tourism believing they will increase tourism across the region.
“People come, they stay in the Philly suburb area — they stay in South Jersey,” said Hilary Chebra, director of government affairs for the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey. “They have a lot of options because we know that they’re going to go to maybe one, two games, but they’re going to want to stay and make the most of their trip.”
The report cautioned against local tax increase proposals backed by Sherrill that would add a 3% sales tax surcharge on certain purchases in the roughly 30-square-mile Meadowlands district; tack an additional 2.5% surcharge on some hotel rooms; and impose a 50-cent charge on ride-hail trips starting or ending in the Meadowlands.
New Jersey residents who pay additional tax due to those proposals, which have not yet been approved, can take a non-refundable gross income tax credit for an identical amount, though some officials have questioned the credit’s practicality.
Citing an internal Morning Consult poll, the report said 86% of New Jersey residents believed the proposals would undercut the World Cup’s economic benefits, and 64% opposed it.
Sherrill on Wednesday again defended the proposals as a tourism fee to help offset the costs of hosting the World Cup.
“We’ve actually heard a lot of positive remarks about that because it won’t be put on the back of New Jerseyans. This is a tourism fee that will just be paid for by tourists, and New Jerseyans will be exempt from it. They can claim a deduction for it,” she said.
The state is also looking to charge steep fares to World Cup attendees who reach the stadium using NJ Transit. Those plans would charge $150 for a train ticket and $80 for shuttle rides in an effort to offset the $48 million NJ Transit is expected to spend ferrying World Cup attendees to matches this summer.
Sherrill said the state is in discussions with FIFA, which has opposed the proposal to raise fares from the usual $12.90 price, to see if the soccer organization can take on some of the costs New Jersey faces.
“FIFA anticipates they’ll make about $11 billion from this event, so I’ve suggested to them and we’ve been in talks with them that they should defray some of this cost, and we’re also talking to local sponsors who are interested in defraying some of those costs,” she said.
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