FIFA World Cup 2026: Vancouver Hosts Seven Matches

[kikin]

Originally Posted by MIPS

Show's over folks. We can go back to watching our NHL teams getting cratered by American teams again.

high hopes for Caleb Malhotra starting a new era for the Canucks

[svlt]

Originally Posted by MIPS

Show's over folks. We can go back to watching our NHL teams getting cratered by American teams again.

A bit premature to say given the thread isn't about the Men's national team but Vancouver hosting matches?

An R16 Colombia-Switzerland match is arguably the biggest draw BC place will host. Bigger than the group stage Canada games. Yeah, in another universe it could have been Portugal-Canada but this is what we ended up with. I'll be very curious to see if the Colombians show up and put on the biggest soccer party Vancouver has seen.

[Zepfancouver]

Team Colombia arriving Downtown Vancouver yesterday evening...Go! Colombia Go!


https://imgur.com/gallery/colombia-team-bus-arriving-round-of-16-downtown-vancouver-july-04-2026-JeeHNVw#67HwlnO.....https://youtu.be/qb0YpAyAyBw?si=uU42cQ2lqYfR4KWp

[SpongeG]

Was rooting for Colombia today. But it's all over now. Of the teams left, it doesn't seem to me anyway, that they will bring out the crowds the way Mexico, Colombia or Canada was doing. Hopefully the buzz keeps going till the end but the games are going to be much be sparse now.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Depends on how well Argentina does, methinks; Messi has enough fans (and haters) to pack every fanzone.

[SpongeG]

ah yes, Argentina could be good.

There was an interview with Mo Salah of Eqypt and he was asked how he liked Vancouver and he said maybe he will live here one day. Is he a possible White Caps signee?

[RedArbutus]

I joined the competing Colombia + Switzerland marches to the stadium yesterday on a (very long) lunch break. A lot of fun!

I've been really impressed with the vibe over the WC. Vancouver has done a great job overall, I think.

[C3YVR]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/live-bl...-score-result/m0RS0qM4SLCj/dIo9ykfDfYQS/

I’ve been in Los Angeles for several weeks and it’s an odd location for World Cup matches.

Maybe it’s too big or too disparate but the tournament doesn’t have any real footprint there.

Vancouver is totally different: a great World Cup city with a distinct centre which leads to a big build up of colour and atmosphere.

People have been talking about which alternative venues to MetLife would have been good for the final: BC Place is 100 per cent one.

July 7, 2026 at 12:10 PM PDT
Phil Hay
Football Writer, reporting from BC Place

[SpongeG]

I saw some clips of Europeans mainly being asked what they thought of BC place and the USA stadiums and they all loved BC place, they did mention it felt a little dated but overall was a great stadium and the USA ones that the people asked had been to for other games said the stadiums were impressive but didn't feel like a good place to watch a soccer game they felt it was a repurposed US Football stadium which they are, and the USA stadiums felt so far away from anything and loved that they could be in the party easily when they left BC Place.

[whatnext]

BIV has survey results of residents thoughts on FIFA here:
https://www.biv.com/news/commentary/mari...p-than-2010-olympics-poll-finds-12513729

I thought this was interesting, given FIFA prices:

...One of the criticisms levied against the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics was that the celebration seemed expensive and exclusive. The World Cup has brought fans from many countries whose participation in winter sports had been inexistent. While we still see more than three in five Metro Vancouverites (63 per cent) say that the World Cup is being staged for the elites, this is significantly lower than the opinion gathered in February 2010 about the Winter Olympics (82 per cent)....


I wonder if having a summer event where residents could partake in outdoor fan zones helped boost opinion of FIFA vs the Winter Olympics?

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by whatnext

I wonder if having a summer event where residents could partake in outdoor fan zones helped boost opinion of FIFA vs the Winter Olympics?

Probably. I still view the tickets as too expensive, the official events like PNE fan zone too expensive, the overall cost of security too much (there were legions of security and cops everywhere), and too much fenced off and "controlled fun".

The best spots were of course bars along Granville and elsewhere, and general atmosphere around BC Place, like on the seawall, marches to the match, etc.

[kikin]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

...and loved that they could be in the party easily when they left BC Place.

another huge strength and reason why having sports teams and concerts downtown is the ideal place

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Probably. I still view the tickets as too expensive, the official events like PNE fan zone too expensive, the overall cost of security too much (there were legions of security and cops everywhere), and too much fenced off and "controlled fun".

The best spots were of course bars along Granville and elsewhere, and general atmosphere around BC Place, like on the seawall, marches to the match, etc.

Yes, the businesses on Granville seemed to benefit the most (I've heard the retail as well as the bars/food).

Interestingly a friend said Destination Vancouver hotel room nights projections show next week up 25% over this week! That's quite a jump given it is after the games played here. Maybe visitors who deliberately booked for after the expected price jumps in room rates?

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Yes, the businesses on Granville seemed to benefit the most (I've heard the retail as well as the bars/food).

Interestingly a friend said Destination Vancouver hotel room nights projections show next week up 25% over this week! That's quite a jump given it is after the games played here. Maybe visitors who deliberately booked for after the expected price jumps in room rates?

They weren't just 'expected price jumps', they were real. Destination Vancouver says that as of June 27 — more than two weeks into the tournament — just 75 per cent of the city’s hotel rooms were full, compared with 91 per cent in June 2025. But Costar reported that "Vancouver hotel RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room) increased by 5.1% during the World Cup, driven by Average Daily Rates (ADR) surging by more than 26%." Anybody looking to take a vacation here (or add a few days onto a cruise) would have thought twice about the room rates that hotels were trying to achieve. It looks like next week occupancy will be back to the 90%+ that is normal for this time of year.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Yes, the businesses on Granville seemed to benefit the most (I've heard the retail as well as the bars/food).

Interestingly a friend said Destination Vancouver hotel room nights projections show next week up 25% over this week! That's quite a jump given it is after the games played here. Maybe visitors who deliberately booked for after the expected price jumps in room rates?

I saw a news clip in the first week and one Grnaville Bar owner said he sold more in the first hour than he would normally get in a week

[WarrenC12]

I will say that I assume most of the costs incurred were spent locally, or at least within Canada. It seems like wages for workers and security/cops would be the vast majority. At least that is money in the hands of locals who will spend most of it here. As opposed to some fat contract to a US company for god knows what.

[kikin]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

I will say that I assume most of the costs incurred were spent locally, or at least within Canada. It seems like wages for workers and security/cops would be the vast majority. At least that is money in the hands of locals who will spend most of it here. As opposed to some fat contract to a US company for god knows what.

It was great to see and I was surprised how much it did spill over into a lot of the smaller businesses in the area. I hope they keep some of the jobs going like keeping the streets and sidewalks clean, etc.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

I will say that I assume most of the costs incurred were spent locally, or at least within Canada. It seems like wages for workers and security/cops would be the vast majority. At least that is money in the hands of locals who will spend most of it here. As opposed to some fat contract to a US company for god knows what.

That said, FIFA likes to do a lot of things in-house, or with unpaid volunteers. Wouldn't be surprised if they billed us for their own people (which TBF is indeed better than American contractors, but still).

[Glow Fun City]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

That said, FIFA likes to do a lot of things in-house, or with unpaid volunteers. Wouldn't be surprised if they billed us for their own people (which TBF is indeed better than American contractors, but still).

They did hire union stagehands for B.C. Place, at least.

[officedweller]

Pacific Boulevard has reopened.