‘The stars are aligning’: Vancouver in as potential FIFA World Cup 2026 host city

Cruise ships in the waters of the Burrard Inlet north of Downtown Vancouver — Downtown Vancouver as seen from the north in 2019. (CityNews Image)

Posted April 14, 2022 8:49 am.

Last Updated April 14, 2022 8:40 pm.

Vancouver is officially in the mix to potentially become a host city for the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

The selection process to figure out which cities in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. will host the tournament, to feature 48 teams across the three countries, is ongoing.

Vancouver has never hosted the World Cup, though it has hosted several matches during the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015, including the final at BC Place, which drew thousands.

B.C. Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Sport Melanie Mark says she’s “encouraged” by the move.

Calling it the “largest single sporting event in the world,” Mark says hosting the tournament would be a “once-in-a-generation opportunity for soccer fans, for our tourism sector, and for all British Columbians.”

“The stars are aligning for Canada Soccer, British Columbia and Vancouver. It’s time we showcase beautiful B.C. once again,” she said, noting the several milestones marked by Canadian athletes on the global stage in recent months and years.

Vancouver mayor feeling ‘good about our chances’

Though a final decision is still up in the air, Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart is confident, saying he’s feeling “good about our chances.”

“Today was a big day. To get ourselves on the official list has been, really, a lot of work to get us there since we had a very short timeline,” he told CityNews Thursday. “Now it’s really just following FIFA’s process in terms of them deciding which cities would get how many games.”

Specifics are still unclear, with Stewart and Mark noting they won’t be able to make any concrete plans until they know for sure Vancouver is in. However, Stewart says there’s a lot to look forward to if his city is chosen.

“I’m not going to say if we get any games — how many games we get here in Vancouver,” he said.

However, there have been concerns raised by many about the potential cost of hosting an event of this scale.

The final tally is not yet available, but Mark says more details will be available in the coming months.

“Numbers we’re receiving right now are anywhere between $240-260 (million) to host the games, but there are a lot of factors involved — we’ve got YVR, we’ve got the federal government, we’ve got a number of players that need to also do their numbers. We can’t do the math until we know that we’re a selected city,” Mark explained.

She is also urging people to see this potential hosting scenario as a long-term investment. As minister, she says her duty is to be a good “steward of the public puse.”

Her mandate is also to support tourism and sport sectors that have been hard hit over the past two years, she adds.

“When the economy’s thriving, we have more resources to invest in housing and infrastructure — which my colleagues are already doing. I recognize that people may see this as a lot of money up front. We’re getting estimates of $240 million to $260 million. But we’re also hearing from Destination BC, B.C.’s Crown agency, and BC Stats, that we could be generating $1 billion,” Mark said, promising transparency through the process.

“We have given it our best shot. We look forward to FIFA announcing the host cities in the coming weeks and are hopeful that Vancouver will be selected.”

Mark also says hosting the World Cup would put a spotlight on B.C., hopefully drawing international visitors in the years to come.

Downtown Vancouver BIA ‘ready’ for World Cup

The news is also drawing a positive reaction from some stakeholders. Nolan Marshall, president and CEO of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, took to Twitter Thursday shortly after the announcement to say the BIA “will be ready to host!”

“We couldn’t receive better news. The economic, social, psychological impact coming out of the last two years is enormous, especially for downtown. When you think about what sporting events, especially on this scale, do for the downtown community, do for the tourism industry, it’s just the best news that we could possibly receive right now,” he told CityNews Thursday.

Marshall says hosting even a handful of games could result in a major boost locally.

“It shows that not only are we going to recover, but that the world expects us to recover from the last two years. It really is huge news,” he added.

The head of the Downtown Vancouver BIA has first-hand experience of how major sporting events can affect local communities, especially ones that have been through trying times.

Previously living in New Orleans, Marshall recalls when the city was recovering from Hurricane Katrina, it was awarded the Super Bowl and an NBA All Star game.

“In just the encouragement that they gave to small businesses, to restauranteurs, people in the service industry, that better days were ahead, was immeasurable for that community as we recovered. I imagine it will be the same thing here, for any other city that’s fortunate to be chosen for the 2026 World Cup,” he explained.

Sporting events of this magnitude should and will become the norm and the expectation. Incredible opportunity for entrepreneurs, artist, and workers in the service industry. @Downtownvan will be ready to host! https://t.co/I7gdQdHBj2 pic.twitter.com/FS325EGBlE

— NM3 (@NolanMarshall) April 14, 2022

When it comes to concerns about costs, Marshall says Vancouver already has the infrastructure needed.

That infrastructure, he notes, is already being used and has been for major sporting events in the past — something he believes will be more frequent in the future.

In March, the City of Vancouver announced that it wanted to put up to $5 millions toward B.C.’s bid, with Stewart previously saying “given the tremendous opportunity we have to support the province and our hard-hit tourism sector.”

“I will recommend to Council that we triple our 2015 World Cup investment and commit up to $5 million in contributions to secure 2026 matches for B.C.,” he said on March 15.

In February, Premier John Horgan said he would be open to hosting the World Cup.

“If we can have a marquee event as part of a North American World Cup, with the Canadian team doing so well right now and people’s attention heightened on that, I would prefer to do that,” Horgan told Drex on JACK FM, about if he was given a choice between the World Cup and another Winter Olympics.