football

As World Cup gouging continues, Arthur Blank will keep "fan-friendly" pricing for Atlanta matches

โ€ขYahoo Sports

As the World Cup creeps closer, the prices keep shooting higher. In Atlanta, at the stadium that has shed its name temporarily at the behest of fรบtbol behemoth FIFA, Falcons owner Arthur Blank is committed to keeping low-cost concessions in place at the venue where eight matches will be played. In an interview with WSB-TV, Blank made it clear that " fan-friendly " pricing for food and drink won't change at the once and future Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

"Fans give us their energy, their time, their passion, their resources, their families, whatever it may be, and we need to honor that in the truest sense of the word, whatever we can," Blank said. Look at the menu . Hot dogs are only $2.

Popcorn is $2. FIFA doesn't share that same view. Earlier this week, FIFA tripled the price of the remaining tickets to the July 19 World Cup final, offering seats for as much as $32,970 each.

And that's before the tickets land on resale platforms, where the prices will go even higher. FIFA president Gianni Infantino recently defended the pricing , attributing it to the market. Where FIFA will be raking in plenty of money via the 30-percent cut (15 percent from the buyer, and 15 percent from the seller) that FIFA gets for tickets resold on its exclusive ticketing platform.

The issue landed on the radar screen of the U. S. president, with Donald Trump being informed that tickets to the U.