Going to North America '26: tickets, accommodations, etc. (non-politics)

Watching USA pack Chicago shows me demand is picking up. US has never filled a stadium half the size of soldier field .

 

That will only accelerate things for the next games. I think amateur touts are going to get burned big time. Reddit right now is full of posts offering overpriced tickets below "face value". Next week, people will be complaining about large losses.

 

Its going to be a combination of the amateur touts and the large swathes of people who think you can just simply 'buy' a ticket 5 minutes after kickoff and walk directly into the stadium.

Any resale site that doesn't close down their platform at least 3 hours before the match is going to have some really angry people on both sides.

 

Yes, not recently. But that was only because you could easily buy tickets for $80. And because Chicago is not a host city. And because it was Germany. That was the World Cup for most of those people. The demand is there for the right price. Selling nosebleeds for a USA match against a team like Paraguay for $500, World Cup or not, is tough business. Nosebleeds at SoFi are terrible.

 

Sofi isnt too bad. Nosebleeds have a great view of the big screen; its right in front of you.
M4 is a waiting game right now. Touts vs fans.

 

yeah, You cant just walk up to a world cup stadium. M4 will hurt a lot of people.

 

That’s what I mean. That screen blocks the rest of the stadium when you’re in the 400 and 500 nosebleed sections. It’s just right in your face! I wouldn’t want to pay more than $100 to sit up there.

 

When and how could you easily buy tickets for $80 for the Chicago match? I’d genuinely like to know so I can tell my friends and coworkers next time.

I was at the match yesterday, and throughout the week the cheapest tickets I saw on the major resale sites were generally $200+. I handled tickets for a group of 10 and only managed to get lower prices because I bought early: six tickets through the December US Soccer presale for about $65 each and four more through the AO ticket exchange for around $50. Those options weren’t available to most people.

What struck me most wasn’t a lack of interest - it was the opposite. Best atmosphere for any match in USA I’ve attended. Even as a friendly, I think was better than 2016 Copa America or the 2019 Gold Cup final versus Mexico.

Over six hours of tailgating and the match itself, I talked to roughly 20 different people or groups. Almost everyone said they wanted to attend World Cup matches, but very few had actually secured tickets yet. The most common complaint was price (of course). Many had driven or flown several hours just for this friendly.

As for the atmosphere, it was completely different from the typical European club match experience, but I wouldn’t call it dull. In some ways, I enjoyed it more.

The crowd was much more diverse than the 6 Champions League quarterfinals and semifinals I’ve attended over the last two years. There were lots of families, women, kids, casual fans, and mixed groups of Americans and Germans socializing together. The German beer garden outside the stadium was packed, people were sharing drinks at tailgates, and USA and Germany supporters were chatting together before and after the game. The double B-52 flyover was a great touch, and a huge percentage of the crowd (80%+) stayed in their seats at halftime for the frisbee dogs - sounds
ridiculous, but better halftime experience than prior World Cup/Champions League where people just rush to the bathrooms or to drink in the concourse. It felt more like a major community event than a hardcore supporters’ match. I felt a 65/35 gender split or even 60/40 yesterday, where for European matches it feels 90/10 (and those 10 are almost all wives/girlfriends)

One interesting anecdote: I met a Chicago Fire player on the CTA the night before. He had met the USMNT earlier that day, yet even he mentioned that getting tickets for U.S. matches had become difficult and that resale prices were too high.

My takeaway is that demand isn’t the issue, it’s exclusively price.

If the U.S. makes a deep run, there will be enormous support & momentum. And for matches in locations where fans can easily gather before and after games - especially downtown venues with bars or a good weekend matches with free time beforehand - the atmosphere should be outstanding. Very much excited for the USA-Australia Friday match in Seattle now!

I understand why Chicago did not bid, but it truly would have made a fantastic host city. Beautiful 30-minute walk sandwiched between Lake Michigan & the big Grant park to get between stadium & downtown. Lots of people even arriving by boat/ferry to the docks just outside the stadium.

 

If USA wins M4; M32 will double. USA Rd 32 will be ski high prices. Americans love winners and there’s plenty of money in America. NY knicks prices are selling for 5k right now.

 

Speaking of the terrible Sofi nosebleeds for $500, I finally jumped on a Cat3 at that price- not sure what draw it came from, but the face value is listed at $1,440 and its top row in the corner. I’m sure people who paid full price in the early draws loved getting those types of seat assignments

 

500 is my floor guess for M4. I don’t think it’ll dip below 500. That’s based on conversations I’ve had with locals. 5-700 is their floor. But there’s plenty of interest for the match. Not at fifa prices tho.

 

Bearing in mind loads of the stadia are way out of Town, who is waiting to do the 'bargain just after KO' gig?.
I live near Twickenham in London and have done rhat standoff. But I am safe in the knowledge that there is a pub I can watch the match in question within ten minutes. I cant watch a match on the subway.

 

I assume that is for M4?

 

yes sorry, this was for M4- $500 flat popped up today (so with the fees, 575)

 

I actually had 2 of those M4 $575 tickets in my cart last night but they were second to last row of the stadium, so no thanks, I let those go. I have seen M4 section 500 nosebleeds for $540, with fees, appear. So these are only going in one direction, and it’s not up.

 

I saw $80 resale, day of. I didn’t look earlier in the week.

 

For M4? Quite a bit lower than $500, for the nosebleeds, is my guess. There are tickets selling for $500 already. I just saw a pair of Category 2 section 500 nosebleeds sold for $499 each.

 

They'll be the outlier sales below $500 for sure. But it'll hold around that. If not! beers on me!

 

You may be right about M4, for section 300 or better seats, $500 might be about right for those. If a nosebleed seat is $200 and a section 300 is $500, I think the lower seat is well worth the difference. There are still several thousand tickets for sale and resale, though, so I am waiting until match day. Remember, the Super Bowl this year was $8K or $9K on resale the week before, and there were tickets below $3K the day of the game.

Of course, waiting until match day almost always gets you the best price.

 

There are no NBA finals or Stanley Cup hockey games on Friday so almost any bar will be ok to watch US-Turkey. If you're short on time when you get in at LAX the town immediately south of the airport, El Segundo, has a number of places that would be fun, such Rock & Brews, Richmond Bar & Grill & Standard Station. There are several hotels about a mile east of the downtown area.

The FanFest at Union Station and Cosm would be also be good.

Hope that helps.

 

Cheapest Knick game 4 nosebleed is >10k! that's insane

 

Imagine being inside tho when they finally win it. I wouldn’t pay it; but in NY? Definitely

 

I couldn't stand seeing Spike Lee that happy. I'd pay not to be there.

 

No, it's New York. Maybe the $20K tickets are a little crazy. Rather clear evidence of people (not necessarily fans) willing to pay FIFA list prices for M104...maybe. Depends if it's a big event in New York, or just another "world class" event passing through. As for Knicks prices, 27 years is a really long time to save up for tickets.

Did anyone catch the M3 ticket drop on Marketplace this afternoon? According to SSK $400 USD for quality Cat2 (between the boxes) tickets, 30+ total...gone by the time I looked. Is this the future, or a scanning error?

 

Yeah, I’m rooting for the spurs to make NYC cry