New Jersey lawmakers visit MetLife Stadium for World Cup preparations

The World Cup is expected to bring $2 billion in economic impact and over a million visitors to New York and New Jersey, and officials are discussing the need for expanded public and private transportation to meet demand.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (PIX11) - Just over two years from now, Christian Climaco's team could be playing a match in the World Cup at MetLife Stadium.

"I'm Salvadorian, but my team is Mexico," said Climaco.

A resident of Long Island, he's a frequent rider of New Jersey Transit. Like many others, his experience the past month has been mired by delays. He's hopeful by 2026, mass transit will up their game.

"It's the world's biggest sporting event," said Climaco. "If you can streamline everything and work on it now, then I think it can handle that magnitude because the capacity and amount of people traveling to this area is going to be massive."

"I think this event is putting us on the world stage, putting New Jersey on the world stage in a way we've never seen before," said Assemblymember William Moen (D-NJ), the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and Arts chair.

To discuss the World Cup's potential impact on the Garden State, the assembly tourism committee went on the road to host its meeting at MetLife Stadium, which will be branded "New York New Jersey Stadium" for the World Cup.

During Committee testimony, officials shared information estimating the World Cup will bring around $2 billion in economic impact and more than a million visitors to New York and New Jersey. Officials said that with all those people, public and private transportation must be expanded to meet demand.

"New Jersey Transit does a wonderful job, but I would hope most of our private carriers would be available as well to participate in this monumental event," said Judy Ross of the Meadowlands Live Convention and Visitors Bureau. "I think it's going to be a collaborative effort."

Legislators said they look forward to more conversations about what that will look like.

"I think this is a good starting point for us as a legislature to understand the needs as it pertains specifically to the World Cup," said Moen.

Between matches scheduled in East Rutherford and Philadelphia. New Jersey is likely to see what could be a once-in-a-lifetime event.

"Not only is FIFA going to be here, but you've got the [United States] semi-quincentennial," said Jeff Vasser of the NJ Division of Travel and Tourism. "2026 is going to be an incredible year for tourism."