The updated estimate released Tuesday is between $483 million and $581 million to host seven matches.
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The public cost for B.C. hosting part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup could exceed half a billion dollars — more than double the early estimates released two years ago.
In 2022, when Vancouver was named one of the host cities, the province said the estimated costs for planning, staging and hosting five World Cup matches in 2026 would be $240 million to $260 million. The updated estimate released Tuesday is between $483 million and $581 million to host seven matches.
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Representatives of the governments of B.C. and Vancouver released the updated numbers on Tuesday.
The cost — what the government calls “gross core hosting costs” — breaks down like this:
• For PavCo, the provincial Crown corporation that owns and operates B.C. Place, between $149 million and $196 million, which includes upgrades and operational during the tournament.
• For the province of B.C., between $88 million and $109 million, which includes security, transportation, health services and emergency management.
• For the City of Vancouver, between $246 million and $276 million, which includes public safety and security, hosting the “FIFA Fan Festival” and traffic and stadium zone management.
The government said the gross cost of as much as $581 million will be offset by between $383 million and $436 million in estimated “revenues and recoveries,” for a net cost to provincial taxpayers of between $100 million and $143 million.
Those revenues and recoveries include an estimated $230 million from an extra 2.5 per cent tax applied to hotel visitors in Vancouver for seven years, between $16 million and $46 million in venue rental fees, as well as an initial $116 million contribution from the federal government, with additional federal contributions expected.
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Tthe Canadian Taxpayers Federation called on the city and province to control the “skyrocketing costs” for hosting the tournament.
“Mayor Ken Sim and Premier David Eby have scored a financial own-goal,” said Carson Binda, B.C. director for the Taxpayers Federation.
“Sim and Eby need to be honest about how much FIFA is really going to cost taxpayers. … The province is playing fast and loose with their financial projections.”
Those millions could instead be spent on hiring hundreds of teachers, building new schools, or cutting taxes for B.C. families and small businesses, the Federation’s statement said.
“The more money that’s wasted on FIFA, the less money that can support British Columbians,” Binda said.
The provincial government’s economic forecasts, based on an estimated 350,000 event visitors to B.C. Place during the World Cup, include $1 billion added to the province’s GDP during the tournament and over the next five years.
Vancouver and Toronto are the two Canadian cities selected to host matches for the 2026 World Cup, which will also include games in 14 other cities in the U.S. and Mexico.
The work planned for B.C. Place includes upgrades to athlete facilities, hospitality spaces, and installing a natural grass pitch to meet FIFA requirements. The pitch may revert to an artificial turf surface following the tournament.
More to come …
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