FIFA World Cup 2026: Vancouver Hosts Seven Matches

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by Tysonbrown

I think this whole thing is going to be a HUGE FAIL. I worked for Expo 86 Corp for years, I was big fan of the 2010 Games but this just has a bid vibe. I welcome the trollers to tell me what I really should think now.

Well there's 7 games. Two Canada games which will sell out. Who knows how the other events will sell but you assume there is huge sponsor/ticket allocations so it probably won't matter that much.

[Migrant_Coconut]

One could easily argue that the Olympics weren't worth the money either. As long as Vancouverites get to see the whole world come to town and have fun in the process, it's a win.

My only complaint is that we don't get a SkyTrain out of the deal this time.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by Tysonbrown

I think this whole thing is going to be a HUGE FAIL. I worked for Expo 86 Corp for years, I was big fan of the 2010 Games but this just has a bid vibe. I welcome the trollers to tell me what I really should think now.

I'm a major troll. I think you are wrong. So many people here are super excited to have a once in a lifetime opportunity to attend a WC match, or just be a part of the atmosphere around the city, if you aren't there in person. And one round of 16 game will easily be the biggest soccer match held in - not Vancouver history, but Canadian history, as well as 2 team Canada group stage matches. This is going to be huge. End troll rant.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Tysonbrown

I think this whole thing is going to be a HUGE FAIL. I worked for Expo 86 Corp for years, I was big fan of the 2010 Games but this just has a bid vibe. I welcome the trollers to tell me what I really should think now.

Why is the vibe bad? I was a kid during Expo, but I do remember many doomers swearing up and down that 2010 would be a disaster and they were going on holidays, etc. They all seemed to disappear by the time the Games rolled around.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by logan5

I'm a major troll. I think you are wrong. So many people here are super excited to have a once in a lifetime opportunity to attend a WC match, or just be a part of the atmosphere around the city, if you aren't there in person. And one round of 16 game will easily be the biggest soccer match held in - not Vancouver history, but Canadian history, as well as 2 team Canada group stage matches. This is going to be huge. End troll rant.

Not sure if it'll turn out this way but apparently the first 4 matches Vancouver will host will have the equivalent of 3 SuperBowls worth of viewership EACH.
The next two matches 5 SuperBowls each
And the 7th match 7 SuperBowls

[djmk]

The two cdn games plus the round of 32 and round of 16 will sell out in minutes. We are supposed to get a marquee team in the Group Stage which will sell out in minutes as well

Maybe two games might be less than full. Gabon vs Uzbekistan might not be the biggest draw

I could not even imagine what the city would be like if Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, England, Italy or Germany shows up.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by djmk

The two cdn games plus the round of 32 and round of 16 will sell out in minutes. We are supposed to get a marquee team in the Group Stage which will sell out in minutes as well

Maybe two games might be less than full. Gabon vs Uzbekistan might not be the biggest draw

I could not even imagine what the city would be like if Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, England, Italy or Germany shows up.

In 2022, Canada had Belgium, Croatia, and Morocco in its group, and Canada is playing 2 games here, so we will likely see a top team or 2 in group stage play, assuming 1 group plays their games here. Not sure if we will host more than one group though.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

One could easily argue that the Olympics weren't worth the money either. As long as Vancouverites get to see the whole world come to town and have fun in the process, it's a win.

Why? Are we still believing the Booster Class lies that we need these events to “put Vancouver on the map”? We’re not Wichita, the world knows about Vancouver. And given that it’s lamented in several places in the forum that we’re short of hotel rooms it is doubly clear that we’re a world class tourism destination. And it also makes it doubly weird that we’re encouraging event hotel bookings at a time they’re already near full.

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

My only complaint is that we don't get a SkyTrain out of the deal this time.

Yep this time for $600 million there very little useful legacy from hosting this.

[logan5]

It just kills you that people are going to enjoy this. Sports culture is a huge part of city life. You can sit at home and sulk all you want though.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by logan5

It just kills you that people are going to enjoy this. Sports culture is a huge part of city life. You can sit at home and sulk all you want though.

It just kills me that $600 million of the public’s money that is sorely needed for other more important, lasting things in B.C., is being spent on it. Obviously the unthinking fanboys always fall for it although politicians are stupid if they think that does them any good at the ballot box.

[djh]

Originally Posted by whatnext

It just kills me that $600 million of the public’s money that is sorely needed for other more important, lasting things in B.C., is being spent on it. Obviously the unthinking fanboys always fall for it although politicians are stupid if they think that does them any good at the ballot box.

The argument of "that money could be used for <name some other project>" has been used for centuries - millennia in fact. It *never, ever* amounts to reality. Show me a city - or even a town - or even a village - where they have eliminated their ills simply by diverting all of their income away from keeping the residents entertained and towards resolving their problems. It doesn't exist, because the (hopefuly wise) leaders realise you need to have hope even while you try to eliminate suffering.

There will always be poverty, homeless, drugs, crime, inequality. We won't always have opportunities to host once-in-a-lifetime events like The Olympics, The World Cup, The World's Fair, etc. Imagine if we had said "this city will not spend a cent on anything unique until we have eradicated poverty/homelessness/crime/drugs/whatever else...this would truly be a sad and desperate place with No Fun City being the official name.

It's an idealistic dream that one can simply divert a stream of money from Bucket A to Bucket B and suddenly Bucket A will no longer be a problem, so from that day on we will have an overflow of "spare money" that we can now use on fun things because all of the bad things have been resolved.

I do understand your concern that it feels like trivial waste when there are more pressing issues in the world. But we also need fun things, not to live like 18th century miners in Salford with nothing to look forward to but the morning when we go back down t' pit and dig t' coal.

[Metro-One]

Also, if you divert all funds from sports / arts / entertainment / festivals to fix those problems, then you will eventually have a smaller tax base to draw those funds from as money people spend at such events never materializes, your city is forgotten by world travelers (killing tourism and their income stream), major venues and sporting clubs leave your city (further depressing the economy), and, from creating such a dull boring place, much of your workforce, especially youth, will leave your city for places that do offer some spectacle and entertainment.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Also, if you divert all funds from sports / arts / entertainment / festivals to fix those problems, then you will eventually have a smaller tax base to draw those funds from as money people spend at such events never materializes, your city is forgotten by world travelers (killing tourism and their income stream), major venues and sporting clubs leave your city (further depressing the economy), and, from creating such a dull boring place, much of your workforce, especially youth, will leave your city for places that do offer some spectacle and entertainment.

What a contrived, strawman argument. Nobody is suggesting diverting all funds from sports / arts / entertainment. Rather the $600m being spent to bring a few World Cup matches to Vancouver is itself being diverted from other spending needs and opportunities.

It's only for a few weeks, but it will disrupt movement around the city, and if the onerous FIFA rules are followed, a lot of businesses too. It has already caused the cancellation of the Dragon Boat Festival. It's unlikely to have much of a net economic benefit.

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by Changing City

It's unlikely to have much of a net economic benefit.

This is simply your own speculation. BC Stats has a basic guesstimate of what they think the economic benefit is, feel free to read it.

Linky

Some highlights:

$203m expected immediately returned in tax revenue to municipalities, the province, and the federal government during the games
$337m expected in additional returned tax revenue to municipalities, the province, and the federal government from 2026-2031
$1b expected revenue to the tourism sector
$1b in GDP growth
Over 6000 FTE jobs created in the long term

FIFA itself claims even better numbers in its assessment, but I'll stick to BC's more conservative assessment.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by Changing City

What a contrived, strawman argument. Nobody is suggesting diverting all funds from sports / arts / entertainment. Rather the $600m being spent to bring a few World Cup matches to Vancouver is itself being diverted from other spending needs and opportunities.

It's only for a few weeks, but it will disrupt movement around the city, and if the onerous FIFA rules are followed, a lot of businesses too. It has already caused the cancellation of the Dragon Boat Festival. It's unlikely to have much of a net economic benefit.

You and Whatnext can have tea and biscuits together, while everybody else enjoys the biggest sporting event on the planet.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by chowhou

This is simply your own speculation. BC Stats has a basic guesstimate of what they think the economic benefit is, feel free to read it.

Of course. Every major sporting event that wants government support produces a 'study', which promises economic benefits into the future. The one BC produced includes 'induced' benefits, which is a way of making the speculative benefits even greater.

It remains true that BC is spending $600m to promote an event organised by FIFA, who bring in many times that amount in sponsorship revenue. It seems strange that they expect public subsidy when they're so effective at raising funds from the private sector.

Some of the money BC is spending is investment in BC Place, so that's not a bad thing, although whether it would have been a priority for public spending without the matches is debatable.

Government subsidy to the Winter Olympics was obviously much greater, but the physical legacy was also much more - Hillcrest, the Convention Centre, the Sea-to-Sky improvements and the Canada Line. But in terms of economic impacts on tourism, it's worth quoting the post-games impact study published a few years later. "Visitors did not appear to stay longer or spend more money than usual during the event year".

I don't think there has been any attempt to estimate long term economic benefits that could be attributed to the games. Obviously the development of the Convention Centre will have had the most impact, but that could, and should have been built with or without the games. In terms of impact on the hotel sector, there are currently fewer hotel rooms in Vancouver now than there were when the Olympics were held.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by whatnext

It just kills me that $600 million of the public’s money that is sorely needed for other more important, lasting things in B.C., is being spent on it. Obviously the unthinking fanboys always fall for it although politicians are stupid if they think that does them any good at the ballot box.

You'd complain about all kinds of other ways that money would be spent. Especially if it was on the poor.

[WarrenC12]

Hosting a handful of World Cup games is a perfect way for BC/Vancouver to be involved in the event without going overboard and hosting something above our means (like the Summer Olympics for example).

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

You'd complain about all kinds of other ways that money would be spent. Especially if it was on the poor.

What about something closer to your livelihood, like health?

I just had a friend take up a bed in a hospital for almost a week waiting for an "emergency" gallbladder removal. In the USA that would have been same day surgery. How many surgeons could we hire for $600 million?

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by chowhou

This is simply your own speculation. BC Stats has a basic guesstimate of what they think the economic benefit is, feel free to read it.

Linky

Some highlights:

$203m expected immediately returned in tax revenue to municipalities, the province, and the federal government during the games
$337m expected in additional returned tax revenue to municipalities, the province, and the federal government from 2026-2031
$1b expected revenue to the tourism sector
$1b in GDP growth
Over 6000 FTE jobs created in the long term

FIFA itself claims even better numbers in its assessment, but I'll stick to BC's more conservative assessment.

Cool story bro'.

We probably got the same kind of return from Taylor Swift's concerts and we didn't have to pay her hundreds of millions to come here.