The largest sporting event in human history starts June 11, and it’s not in some far-off city. New Jersey is hosting eight matches at MetLife Stadium, including the Final on July 19. Brazil is setting up its base camp outside Morristown. The international press corps is being housed at Montclair State. And Greg Kahn, a Montclair resident and founder of GK Digital Ventures, an advisory firm at the intersection of sports, media and technology, has been living inside this world for the past 18 months.
He joined The Montclair Pod to walk us through what the World Cup actually means for this town: for commuters, for small business owners and for anyone thinking about renting out their place.
New Jersey Is Hosting the Final. Yes, the Final.
Forty-eight teams. 104 matches. Six billion people projected to watch globally. Four countries, Brazil, Haiti, Senegal and Morocco, are basing their national teams in New Jersey for the duration of the tournament. England, France, Germany and Norway are all scheduled to play at MetLife.
Kahn has been unambiguous about the scale. “This is not only the largest World Cup ever,” he said. “It’s the largest sporting event ever, and it’s the largest cultural event in the world ever.”
For Montclair specifically, the presence is concrete. The official World Cup press corps is headquartered at Montclair State University, journalists and broadcasters from around the world, a few miles from Bloomfield Avenue. “They could have been in a lot of different places,” Kahn said, “but they’re right here in our backyard.”
About That Route 3 Commute
Nobody wants to hear this, but Kahn didn’t sugarcoat it. “I won’t be timing going into the city during match days, that’s for sure.”
The complications compound quickly. Route 3 traffic will be significant on game days. There are unresolved questions about whether airports could face limitations on international arrivals. And a potential Knicks Finals game six could overlap directly with a World Cup match at MetLife, stacking two massive events on the same roads at the same time.
Rail isn’t a clean alternative either. If you’ve been following the service disruptions on the Montclair-Boonton Line, you already know the system is under strain on a normal week.
His advice: avoid Route 3 on match days where you can, build in extra time when you can’t and treat patience as a practical strategy rather than a consolation.
What Montclair Businesses Should Do Right Now
Kahn’s primary message to local businesses, restaurants, salons, gyms, bodegas, anyone with a storefront, is to signal openly that international visitors are welcome. There is a broader feeling, he said, that the U.S. may not be receptive right now. Montclair’s default posture runs counter to that, and it’s worth saying so explicitly.
“I would be vocal about that,” Kahn said. “You’re welcome here. We want to see the Haitians here and we want to see the Moroccans here and the Senegalese here in town.”
There are specific opportunities worth acting on. The Brazilian delegation is actively looking for Padel courts on their off days. Lackawanna Plaza will be showing matches and is finalizing its public schedule. The third floor of American Dream mall, the only venue within walking distance of MetLife, is designated for small and medium-sized businesses to participate in FIFA’s surrounding programming.
Kahn also pointed out that New Jersey bars are well behind New York City on one specific move: aligning with a national team. In the five boroughs, certain bars have already claimed an identity, hung the flags, put the matches on and built a following around a specific country’s fans. “I think it would be a strong marketing move,” Kahn said. The window is still open.
There’s Also a Business Summit. Four Miles Away, During Finals Week.
On July 15, four days before the Final, Kahn’s own event lands at Prudential Center in Newark. The Global Game Summit is a full-day conference focused on the business side of soccer: ownership and capital, media rights, technology and the economics of the sport at a moment when all of it is shifting fast. Club owners, investors, athletes and media executives are expected to attend. It’s the only gathering of its kind scheduled during Finals week, and it’s happening in New Jersey by design.
“It’s time for New Jersey to get its due,” Kahn said.
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. Attendance is limited.
Thinking About Renting Your Place?
The “name any price and someone will pay it” moment has passed. Hotel occupancy data suggests soft demand, but Kahn argues it misses the full picture. Group travelers, multi-generational families and fans coming in groups of 10, book through Airbnb and VRBO, not hotels. That demand is real; it just hasn’t fully landed in Montclair yet.
“Montclarians still have a chance to do it if they would like to,” Kahn said. “They just have to be nimble and flexible.”
South American fans from Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico are committed to coming regardless of conditions. Western European demand is softer, partly because of the political climate in the U.S.
Kahn’s word of advice: “Stay flexible. Look to see who’s playing here in the round of 32 and the round of 16, and of course around the Final.”
The tournament runs through July 19. There’s still time.
Image Credit: Unsplash / Alvaro Palacios
