Image Credit: Big SNOW American Dream

Meadowlands, New Jersey —  Soccer is on the minds of people across the globe, including (surprisingly) Americans. We’re in the midst of the FIFA World Cup, which is having a surprising impact on America’s ski industry.

MetLife Stadium, which will be one of the most important venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, is located next to the American Dream Mall. The infamous mall, which took a very long time to complete, is home to America’s only indoor ski area: Big SNOW American Dream.

Run by the good folks at SNOW Operating, it’s a fun atmosphere with options for first-timers, more experienced skiers and riders, and snow tubers. Since it’s indoor, there isn’t much that affects it, aside from major events near the stadium. Luckily, MetLife is home to the Jets and Giants, and those teams haven’t been relevant in years. However, the World Cup is a whole different beast.

With the World Cup matches underway, there’s increased demand for parking in the area. Some areas that are traditionally parking lots are being used by FIFA as security or fan-entertainment zones. This has increased demand for parking at the American Dream Mall. For people without tickets to the match, it’s not recommended to visit the World Cup site. That leaves businesses at the American Dream Mall with a conundrum during each match day: operate without changes but face various hurdles, minimize operations, or close for the day.

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Big SNOW & The World Cup

As a result, operations at Big SNOW are being affected. Big SNOW reduced operations on Saturday for the Brazil vs. Morocco match and isn’t operating today. Today’s cancellation is due to the big tilt between Mbappe’s France versus Africa Cup of Nations champ Senegal. The following dates will be impacted due to matches: June 22, June 25th, June 27th, June 30th, July 5th, and July 19th. It’s unclear yet whether those dates will lead to full closures or just minimized operations at Big SNOW.

Just going off a hunch here, you may want to avoid the American Dream Mall or Big SNOW on July 19th. Something big may be happening nearby that day.

Image/Video Credits: Big SNOW American Dream

Born and raised in New Hampshire, Ian Wood became passionate about the ski industry while learning to ski at Mt. Sunapee. In high school, he became a ski patroller at Proctor Ski Area. He travelled out...