For ticketless Swift fans in Jersey, MetLife will be a ‘Tayl-gate’ free zone

Jersey Swifties: “But if I just showed up at your party, would you have me?”

MetLife Stadium: No.

Ahead of Taylor Swift’s New Jersey Eras Tour dates, MetLife Stadium officials are telling fans without tickets to stay home.

“Please don’t come to the stadium without a ticket,” a stadium rep told USA Today. “We want to make sure the fans with tickets can get in and have a great night.” MetLife officials say they expect parking lots to be at “maximum capacity.”

It’s a far cry from the dance parties and ‘Tayl-gates’ popping up across the country as Swift’s show travels.

Two weeks ago in Philadelphia, an estimated 20,000 fans without tickets experienced the Saturday, May 13 night Swift performance from just outside Lincoln Financial Field. They held hands, danced, and joined the roughly 70,000 ticketholders inside in sing-alongs as Swift performed. Large crowds also gathered on the Friday and Sunday night shows.

» READ MORE: Couldn’t snag a Taylor Swift ticket? Fans brought their own seats and listened outside the Linc

As previously reported by the Inquirer and other national news outlets, Swiftie celebrations outside of her arena shows are becoming commonplace at the singer’s sold-out shows. Part of it is because tickets were hard to come by and expensive while the tailgates cost, at most, the price of parking.

Still, stadium officials and North Jersey police say those without a ticket should not come to MetLife, citing safety.

“Event tickets corresponding to that evening’s concert are required to access the parking lots,” MetLife said on its social media Wednesday afternoon.

Ticketless fans who planned to tailgate in lieu of attending the sold out shows are receiving the news poorly. They’re calling MetLife fun-ruiners.

“This is so disappointing,” one fan said on Twitter. “There are so many fans who couldn’t get/can’t afford tickets, and the only way we were going to experience the concert was in the parking lot.”

Critics are asking how tailgating for Swift differs from tailgating for a Giants game, where not all attendees are necessarily attending the game itself (though it’s unclear if the Giants even have an extra 20,000 fans to hang out outside).