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How much will tickets for the MBTA's World Cup train cost? More than usual
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
It's Tuesday, and I'm still reckoning with the weekend revelation that we've been mispronouncing Henry David Thoreau's name. In the meantime, let's go confidently in the direction of today's news:
Fare game: MBTA General Manager Phil Eng confirmed yesterday that tickets for the agency's 2026 World Cup trains will be more expensive than its usual event trains to Gillette Stadium. But by how much? The T has been conspicuously — perhaps ominously — tight-lipped. " We have not finalized the price yet," Eng told reporters at a press conference at North Station to highlight how the T was otherwise cutting fares for regular commuter rail riders this summer.
- The backstory: Roundtrip train tickets from Boston to Foxborough for Patriots games and concerts at Gillette typically cost $20. That price was upped to $30 for last week's Brazil-France friendly soccer match. However, The Athletic reported last week that it could soar even higher — "around or even more than $75" — for Gillette's seven World Cup games. Eng would not confirm that report Monday, but did say the tickets would cost " more than our normal pricing."
- Why? Eng argued that the tickets will "have more value," but not (just) because of the event — which hasn't been played in the U.S. for more than 30 years. Rather, Eng said it's a more "robust" ticket that will allow individuals to ride the entire commuter rail system on the day of their game, in case they're not based in Boston. " They may be [staying] in Rockport," Eng said. "They may be farther west in Pittsfield, in that area." (Editor's note: If you plan to take public transportation from Pittsfield to Foxborough, an MBTA ticket isn't the only one you'll need.)
- What's next: Eng said that the prices will be decided and shared publicly by early April. According to the T's website, the tickets will go on sale next Wednesday, April 8, via the agency's mTicket app. The T is also requiring that buyers have a ticket to the World Cup match itself to purchase a ticket for the train.
- What's the alternative? You could brave the traffic and try to snag one of Gillette's limited parking spots. However, the price to reserve a spot ahead of time in one of the stadium's official lots starts at $150 a car.
- In related news: FIFA's final phase of 2026 World Cup ticket sales begins this Wednesday at 11 a.m. The first-come, first-serve "Last-Minute Sales Phase" is open to the general public and lets users select specific seats. NPR has five things you need to know about the process here.
It's not all sunny in Connecticut basketball: The WNBA's Connecticut Sun are moving to Houston next year. The Mohegan Tribe, which has owned the Sun for 23 years, announced yesterday that they had agreed to sell the team to Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the NBA's Houston Rockets. According to The Associated Press, Fertitta is buying the team for a WNBA record $300 million.
- Why not us? You may remember that the Sun had an offer on the table for even more money — $325 million! — from now former Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca that included moving the franchise to Boston. Sun president Jen Rizzotti even told the Associated Press that was her preferred option. However, the WNBA stepped in and basically blocked that deal, saying relocation decisions were for the league (not individual franchises) to make and that Houston had priority over Boston because it was next in line in the league's expansion process.
- Next steps: The WNBA's Board of Governors still needs to vote on the move. If approved, the upcoming 2026 season will be the Sun's last in Connecticut. They'll begin playing in Houston in 2027 as the Comets (the name of one of the WNBA's original teams, based in Houston until it disbanded in 2008). After that, New England will likely be without a WNBA team until at least the 2030s.
In court: An Amherst man who was pardoned by President Trump for his alleged role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is heading to prison on child pornography charges.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts said yesterday that a federal judge sentenced 31-year-old Daniel Tocci to four years in prison after an "enormous" collection of child porn and other disturbing material was found on his laptop.
- Tocci was first arrested in 2023 for breaking into the Capitol after a local police officer recognized him from Jan. 6 footage. He received a preemptive blanket pardon on the pending charges from Trump in 2025. However, prosecutors found the material during a search of his home as part of their Jan. 6 investigation.
P.S.— For the first time in over 40 days, TSA workers began getting paychecks yesterday. That's because President Trump took executive action Friday ordering the Department of Homeland Security to find money to pay TSA workers, even as the shutdown of the department continues. Airport wait times are reportedly improving, but the move doesn't mean everything will immediately return to normal. NPR reports that ICE agents could remain at some airports and TSA remains down 500 workers who have quit. Here are some tips if you still run into long airport lines.
