Fans without World Cup tickets have been cautioned over a free but potentially risky way to follow the tournament, with the US due to face Australia tomorrow (June 19) in Seattle, Washington.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, staged across the US, Canada and Mexico, is set to be the biggest edition of the tournament ever held, with 48 teams, 104 matches and record crowd numbers expected across the three host nations.
Seattle Stadium, the FIFA name for Lumen Field during the tournament, will hold 66,925 spectators and is one of six World Cup venues in the city.
An event of that scale also brings major security concerns. Although President Trump said the tournament should be “safe, welcoming and memorable” for supporters, experts say that cannot be taken for granted.
Reports say the US government has allocated $625 million for World Cup security preparations, yet one legal and security expert believes the greater danger for many supporters may lie outside the stadium itself.
That matters because plenty of fans say the cost of attending matches has become too high, meaning huge numbers are expected to watch from public fan zones in the US and elsewhere around the world.
Corey Pollard, a lawyer and the managing partner of Corey Pollard Law, said: “Sometimes, fan zones are more dangerous than stadiums,”
He added: “For the most part, stadiums are controlled spaces. There are seats, tickets, gates, cameras, stewards, and capacity limits.”
By contrast, he said fan zones often have far fewer controls in place.
Pollard noted: “Many people are drinking, individuals arrive at different times, some have tickets, some don’t, and the crowd goes out into the street, public spaces, pubs, transportation hubs, etc. This means proper planning is a necessity.”
He argued that the main hazard comes from how crowds behave and shift in large numbers.
“When so many elements come together – heat, drink, emotion, and confusion – any event can quickly turn into a dangerous situation.”
The US head into tomorrow’s match against Australia on the back of a 4-1 win over Paraguay on June 13, in what was their opening game of the tournament.
The match will be played at Seattle Stadium, the FIFA tournament name for Lumen Field, where fans can be accommodated in a crowd of almost 67,000.
Looking ahead to the rest of the competition, Pollard said: “Security staff need to be taught about the plan, how to implement it, and what to do in case of any issues occurring.”
For supporters still hoping to attend in person, the total cost of hotels, tickets, food and drink is likely to be substantial.
Official FIFA ticket sales remain open on a first-come, first-served basis in the tournament’s final sales phase, with group-stage seats starting at $60 and final tickets reaching as high as $6,730, although resale prices can be far higher depending on demand.
NBC reviewed hotel prices using the average cost of the five cheapest properties within 15 miles of each stadium, based on figures from late last month.
Fans travelling to the US opener against Paraguay on June 12 were looking at roughly $710 for a two-night stay in Los Angeles.
Accommodation for the Turkey match on June 25 comes in at a similar level.
For the Australia game in Seattle on June 19, hotel costs are estimated at about $660.
Match tickets add another major expense.
Seatpick still lists seats for the Paraguay opener from around $646.
Tickets for the Australia and Turkey matches are also starting from about $640.
And once inside or around the grounds, refreshments are unlikely to come cheap either.
Prices seen at the England v New Zealand warm-up game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday (6 June) may offer a preview of what fans can expect during the World Cup itself.
A large beer was being sold for $18.75, while a bottle of water cost $7.50.
Football Ground Guide also estimates that a simple meal and a beer at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, where the USA will play their first and third group-stage matches, will cost $32.24.
At Seattle’s Lumen Field, where the US take on Australia, the same purchase is estimated at $26.88.