Spare a dollar for your local park? Proposal would add surcharge to NYC ticket sales.

Liam Quigley

Published Jan 12, 2025

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A large crowd at a concert in Forest Hills Stadium.

Rajji Vikram

Liam Quigley

Published Jan 12, 2025

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A small surcharge for ticket sales at sports and music events in New York City could raise millions in badly needed funds for public parks across the five boroughs, according to a new report.

Shuttered bathrooms, busted water fountains and overgrown paths that accelerate brush fires could receive up to $190 million in additional funding from a nominal surcharge on ticket sales, according to the report by the Center for an Urban Future. Many major venues like Yankee Stadium and Citi Field are already located on city parkland, and the think tank behind the report also says that if casinos come to the city, money from ticketed events there could also go to city parks.

Although parks cover 14% of city land, the parks department only receives a tiny fraction of the $112 billion city budget.

“ We've seen how important parks and spaces are for New Yorkers, certainly coming through COVID. Just exponential growth in use of our parks, our rec centers, playgrounds, beaches, etc.,” said Adam Ganser, who heads the advocacy group New Yorkers for Parks.

Ganser said money raised from the proposed surcharge would be set aside exclusively for parks, and could go toward anything from hiring more lifeguards to making sure ballfields are maintained.

A 1% surcharge on ticket sales could yield $38 million annually for city parks, according to the report, which found that the average New York city ticket price was $120 in 2023. That year, ticket revenue from performances, sporting events and other events reached $3.8 billion, according to the report.

Eli Dvorkin, the editorial and policy director for the Center for an Urban Future, said that while a tiny surcharge on a $120 ticket is negligible, the proposal would result in noticeable gains. (A 1% surcharge would be $1.20.)

“But we're going to notice that when you see the impact of those maintenance dollars in our parks on the local level,” he said. “ We can't afford to not make this kind of investment in our parks.”

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