FIFA 2026 World Cup host cities announced: What’s next for Vancouver?

Downtown Vancouver and BC Place are seen from above in this aerial shot — Downtown Vancouver and BC Place. Jul. 14, 2019. (Riley Phillips, CityNews)

Posted June 17, 2022 7:08 am.

Last Updated June 17, 2022 7:10 am.

It’s official — Vancouver will play host to some FIFA 2026 World Cup games. However, despite receiving the nod, the city has much to do in preparation for the world of soccer.

BC Place, as well as Toronto’s BMO Field, will be the Canadian venues of the tournament, alongside several U.S. and Mexico arenas.

The moment Vancouver became a World Cup host city. @Sportsnet650 @CityNewsVAN pic.twitter.com/9M2qGYk40D

— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) June 16, 2022

It’s still unclear whether Vancouver or Toronto will actually host Team Canada during the championship, but the west coast city could be the lead candidate.

Regardless — both stadiums are in need of upgrades.

BC Place needs to update its artificial turf before players take to the pitch. FIFA mandates that all World Cup games must take place on natural grass, so the Vancouver 54,405 seat-venue would have to put down a grass surface in order to be World Cup compliant.

Previously, Vancouver hosted the 2015 Women’s World Cup final. BC Place says the venue installed that year an upgraded multi-purpose turf that met “FIFA 2-Star certification standards at the time.” That turf was “LigaTurf RS+CoolPlus World Cup Edition 260 W ACS 90 Bionic Fibre Infill, by Centaur Products Inc – supplier of Polytan GmbH, a globally recognized producer of world-class synthetic turf.”

The turf at BC Place was replaced in January.

On its website, FIFA lists a number of authorized contractors, as well as approved products for fields.

The cost of planning, staging, and hosting matches in Vancouver is an estimated $240 million to $260 million.

“This estimate is before considering offsetting contributions from the federal government and the City of Vancouver, stadium and training site rentals and other sources, and potential marketing opportunities that are expected to generate revenue,” the province said in a statement.

It’s unclear how much the BC Place upgrades will cost alone.

However, regardless of how much the province will be spending, it sees this as an opportunity for the B.C. economy.

“British Columbians will enjoy an economic boost to the tourism and hospitality sectors that will be felt for years to come. We look forward to welcoming the global soccer community to our province,” the statement added, noting the tournament could bring in $1 billion in new tourism revenue.

“This event will attract visitors from all over the world, and we know that when first-time visitors come to B.C, they return again and again, while promoting B.C. to others. They fill up our hotel rooms, buy from our local businesses, support our economy and have long-lasting benefits for our tourism sector,” Tourism Minister Melanie Mark, adding B.C. is “ready to welcome the world.”

FIFA announces Toronto and Vancouver as host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup™!

Toronto and Vancouver will join 11 host cities in the USA, and three host cities in Mexico as competition venues for the largest FIFA World Cup™ in history.

MORE : https://t.co/lDhELwSCee pic.twitter.com/imj5XIkT3k

— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) June 16, 2022

Meanwhile, in Toronto, BMO Field will need to add an additional 10,000 seats in order to reach FIFA’s minimum of 40,000 for World Cup games.

A total of 80 games will be divvied up between co-hosts Canada, the United States, and Mexico for the 2026 tournament, with the U.S. expected to be awarded most of the matches, including the quarterfinals, semifinals and the championship game. Mexico and Canada are expected to get 10 each with the specifics of those games to be announced at a later date.

The 2026 tournament will be the first World Cup since 2002 that will be hosted by more than one country.

-With files from The Canadian Press, Michael Ranger, and John Marchesan

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