Property owners near Gillette Stadium are renting out their yards for parking and making a mint, turning the World Cup into a lucrative side hustle as tourists and fans pour into Eastern Massachusetts.
Locals and visitors have complained about the high cost of ticket prices and travel for the seven World Cup matches at Gillette, renamed Boston Stadium for the duration of the tournament. Ticket holders can pay $80 for round-trip commuter rail tickets, pay $175 to park at the stadium, or find another way.
That's what Eviana Bodheh and her family did. Bodheh and 30 of her family members came all the way from Detroit, Michigan, with her family to watch Iraq play Norway Tuesday.
"It's a big game for us," she said. "Iraq's first World Cup."
They scored not only tickets to the international match but also close-by parking spaces outside a home on Shufelt Road. Bodheh says her cousin found the spots on Facebook ahead of time.
"Quick walk. We can all be together," she said. "We have a bathroom they're allowing us to use."
Their parking spot is on the front lawn of Anna Meleger's home, less than a mile from the stadium. She and her husband have lived there for about 20 years.
During the seven FIFA World Cup matches, they will rent out 25 spaces for $100 each. That adds up to $17,500.
"It's a big party atmosphere," Meleger said. "My husband does it and I stay out of it, but I see how much hard work this whole neighborhood puts in together [to do it]."
Foxborough bans homeowners from that kind of front-lawn parking. But just over the border in South Walpole, Meleger and their neighbors get permits through the town. They all agreed to charge $100 per spot, higher than their normal rates, one neighbor said.
Meleger accepts cash and Venmo and says it's a good side income.
Her next-door neighbor, Nino Biancarelli, moved onto Shufelt Road last August.
"We only fit four spots over at our spot," Biancarelli said. "So I'm like, 'Man, we bought the wrong house on the block.'"
Sema Michael and her family came down from Nashua, New Hampshire, and are big supporters of the Iraqi squad.
Michael said they were excited to land parking on Meleger's property and thought the $100 price tag was fair.
"It's convenient," she said. "It's really nice off the highway, so there are some local roads that we can take back to the highway and avoid the traffic."
All the extra traffic on the road was good for the local kids selling lemonade, too.
"We have gotten $88, and we've only been selling for 30 minutes," a young boy shouted out.
Nadine Corletto on Shufelt Road said it's "parking central."
"I mean, it's kind of a local gem," she said.
On a dirt path, visitors can get to the stadium in less than a mile.
"We love it, we love it! We're kind of stuck in our houses in the neighborhood so we might as well have as much fun and enjoy it however we can," Corletto said.
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