As the World Cup comes to Foxborough, homeowners are renting out their lawns for parking

As the world prepares to descend on Foxborough for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, some of the most sought-after parking spots may not be in Gillette Stadium at all.

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They may be on someone’s lawn.

On match days, South Walpole resident Justin Burdon expects to spend part of the day standing at the end of his street, waving strangers onto his front lawn. He figures many will reach a point where sitting in traffic no longer seems worth it.

“We’re maybe a mile from the stadium, so at that point people just want to find a parking space and want to walk to the stadium,” the 47-year-old said in an interview with Boston.com. “It’s faster than driving at that point.”

With the first match at Gillette Stadium (renamed “Boston Stadium” during the tournament) just over a week away, a neighborhood parking economy is already taking shape surrounding the stadium.

While FIFA and stadium officials are selling thousands of parking passes to ticketholders (priced at $175 per spot), homeowners in nearby towns are quietly turning yards and driveways into their own temporary parking lots.

The practice is not new — residents and commercial lots near Gillette have been offering up parking on their property for stadium events for years. But the custom exists in a patchwork of local bylaws that can change from one town line to the next.

In Foxborough, where the stadium is located, residential parking lots are prohibited, per a 2012 bylaw that banned the practice.

“Only businesses can apply for temporary parking lots,” Catherine Feerick, the town’s director of land use and economic development, told Boston.com in an email.

There are two residential properties that have been grandfathered in, but otherwise, “there is no path for residential property owners in Foxborough to apply for special permits to park World Cup attendees,” she added.

In neighboring Walpole, residents can obtain stadium event parking lot licenses through the town’s Select Board, allowing them to park cars on their property during stadium events. Permits last a year and can be renewed annually.

For Burdon, the World Cup was reason enough to join a tradition many of his neighbors have practiced for years. The draw, he said, was largely financial.

“There was just so much demand,” he said. “I just figured it’d be a good opportunity to jump in the mix.”

Burdon said the licensing process required submitting an application online and a plot design to the Building Department showing how vehicles would enter, exit, and park safely on the property. He was required to pay a municipal fee of $7 per spot, in addition to state fees to get the license, he said.

He’s planning to use his lawn and driveway to accommodate 26 cars priced at $100 per spot — if every spot is filled, that’s $18,200 for all seven games.

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Across South Walpole, many other homeowners appear to be making similar plans. Burdon said he knows of “seven [or] eight streets” in Walpole within a mile of the stadium that are offering drive-up parking.

“It’s pretty festive down here on game days,” Burdon said.

For Emily Burke, another South Walpole resident (and Burdon’s sister-in-law), the World Cup finally convinced her to get involved herself.

After submitting an online application, Burke received approval for 27 spaces and plans to charge $100 per vehicle as well. Like Burdon, she expects many customers to be spontaneous arrivals looking for a way out of traffic and a more affordable parking option.

“It’s cheaper than what the stadium is offering for parking, so it’s a little bit of a discount for people,” she said.

She believes her street offers an especially attractive alternative because of a shortcut to the stadium.

“At the end of the street there’s a little dirt path and it connects you right to the stadium,” Burke said. “It’s an easy 10 minute walk.”

The neighborhood atmosphere is also part of the appeal for her first-time offering parking on her property.

“I love the people watching aspect of it,” Burke said. “It’s going to be super fun to meet some of these folks just through this experience.”

How much parking demand the World Cup ultimately generates remains an unanswered question.

According to FIFA World Cup Boston, 5,000 parking spaces in stadium-controlled lots are currently being sold directly to ticket holders. Another 6,000 spaces are available in satellite lots, Boston 26 spokeswoman Julie Duffy told Boston.com in an email statement.

Foxborough officials say they are not anticipating anything beyond the scale of other major events the stadium has hosted in the past.

“We envision parking being near the level typically seen for very large events we’ve held in Foxborough before, such as the Eras Tour,” Feerick, the town’s land use planner, said. “The Town’s system should have plenty of capacity for vehicle parking.”

For residents of South Walpole, the tournament promises not only extra income, but a front-row seat to a global spectacle.

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“The whole world is coming to come to Foxborough,” Burdon said.