FIFA's takeover of Gillette Stadium starts today with the venue's rebranding as "Boston Stadium."

Why it matters: The first World Cup game in Foxborough kicks off in 30 days, which stands to bring tourism dollars and traffic jams to the region.

Driving the news: FIFA is still selling up to 5,000 parking spots for $175 but will add more if demand grows, said Jim Nolan, COO of Kraft Sports and Entertainment.

• Independent parking lot managers will sell spots along Route 1, but Nolan said he couldn't speak for them about how much they'll charge.
• The stadium's lots will open four hours before each match starts.

The latest: Nolan and other officials yesterday urged fans to avoid the stadium if they don't have a ticket.

• Parking spots and fan experiences, including tailgating, will be limited to stadium ticket holders.

What they're saying: "If you don't have a ticket, don't come to Gillette," Nolan said.

• Nolan said fans without tickets should go to Boston's Fan Fest or another community watch party.

Friction point: Several cities and towns are still awaiting final approval from FIFA for public viewing licenses to broadcast the matches live, the Boston Globe reported.

• Boston '26 president and CEO Mike Loynd said he's been asking FIFA for updates about the licenses even though the host committee isn't involved.
• "I was on the phone with FIFA yesterday, and they assured us that we were going to get that sorted in the next couple of days," Loynd told reporters.
• The committee plans to follow up with local watch party organizers.

If you go: The Boston-based Yankee Line will operate the Boston Stadium Express between Boston hotels and the stadium for $95 a person.

• Fans don't have to be hotel guests to wait at the hotel for pickup.
• The Commuter Rail has sold at least 31,000 round-trip tickets for its train on game days, per NBC Boston. A ticket costs $80.
• Rideshare companies will be allowed to pick up and drop off ticket holders in Lot 16.

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FIFA will ask fans to show their tickets three times before they reach their seats, said Jim Nolan, the Kraft Sports and Entertainment Group executive.

• The fan experience zone opens three hours before kickoff and closes 30 minutes before, so everyone can get to their seats. It will reopen for two hours after the match.

🏈 Visitors looking to take photos of the Tom Brady statue will be out of luck.

• Access to the statue, Patriots Pro Shop, Patriots Hall of Fame and Gillette Stadium Lighthouse will be closed until mid-July.
• The pro shop will temporarily operate out of a spot in Patriot Place South Marketplace between the Trader Joe's and Bass Pro Shops.

Be smart: The stadium's typical clear-bag policy will be in effect.

• The stadium is fully cashless, but cash-to-card conversion stations will be available.

Tell a friend planning to tailgate

💕 "Love Is Blind" returns this fall for its 11th season, this time set in Boston. (E News)

• Unlike most dating reality shows, it pairs up contestants before they meet face-to-face and has them move in together once engaged.

🛒 Whole Foods plans to open a location on the ground floor of Amazon's office building at 111 Harbor Way in Boston's Seaport District. (BBJ)

Hundreds of people in Salem gathered for the funeral of State Police trooper Kevin Trainor. (Globe)

• Trainor, 30, was killed last week when a driver heading the wrong way crashed his car head-on into Trainor's police cruiser.

🗳️ Anne Brensley, the MassGOP-endorsed Republican running for lieutenant governor, failed to collect enough signatures to make the ballot. (MassLive)

📲 Add Boston City Council to the growing list of opponents of the data privacy bills Gov. Maura Healey and state lawmakers proposed to make residents submit personal information to use social media in Massachusetts. (Universal Hub)

Boston-area hotels are seeing more bookings in June and July than they did last summer, despite FIFA's decision to release hotel blocks, according to the city's regional tourism bureau.

Why it matters: The booking estimates suggest that hotels and other businesses do stand to benefit from the World Cup, even though FIFA initially failed to book all the rooms it had set aside, Meet Boston officials said.

Catch up quick: Nearly 80% of hotel respondents in Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle reported booking pace falling below expectations and behind a typical summer, according to a recent survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA).

• Factors they cited included FIFA room releases and "weak international fan travel."

Yes, but: Meet Boston said in a statement that booking pace trends for June and July are up 5.3% and 11.7%, respectively, compared with last year.

• The AHLA survey based its estimates on rooms released from FIFA blocks, which fell below expectations, a Meet Boston spokesperson said. (Kansas City officials also pushed back against the survey's projections.)
• The AHLA did not respond to emails seeking comment yesterday.

Zoom out: About 65%–70% of the hotel owners in World Cup host cities that the AHLA surveyed said visa barriers and geopolitical concerns are "significantly suppressing international demand."

Go deeper

World Cup fans can still score tickets to matches in U.S. host cities ahead of next month's kickoff — but many are balking at the prices.

The big picture: FIFA is officially in its "last-minute sales" phase, with some matches showing limited availability and some prices reaching beyond $11,000, per an Axios review.

• The federation is facing backlash for steep ticket costs and its new "dynamic" pricing system, which lets prices fluctuate with demand.

What they're saying: FIFA president Gianni Infantino has defended World Cup ticket prices, saying they're charging "market rates" in the U.S. entertainment market.

• So have MBTA and host committee leaders when asked about the price hikes for the Commuter Rail and parking.