Hosting costs for 2026 FIFA World Cup in Vancouver may hit $581M

We are thrilled to be welcoming 7 matches to Vancouver, BC right here NBC place the World Cup as we know it’s the largest single sport event and these seven matches are expected to attract more than 350,000 soccer fans. These fans are going to be eating, they’re going to be staying and they’re going to be exploring British Columbia. Before, during and after this tournament. It’s estimated that this event will generate more than a billion dollars in additional tourist dollars from 2026 to 2031. FIFA 2026 will also generate significant economic impact here in Vancouver, in Toronto, and across the country. In fact, it’s estimated that FIFA will generate more than $2 billion in overall economic activity, including 395 million in projected visitors spending. Over 350 million in tax revenues across the country, not including the billions of viewers that will be tuning in to watch from around the world, bringing international attention to Canada. We know that it will generate over a billion dollars worth of revenue into our province. We expect a million more visitors to visit us after this event is over and the economic generation we believe will go out throughout the province. So it’s an investment in our future. We’re going to maximize those benefits as much as possible as we work towards 2026. There are certain requirements that FIFA has in order for us to be able to host this, this tournament, and it’s evolving. So there’s things like training sites, there’s requirements around fan festivals, there are different ways of accounting for cost, there’s government accounting, there’s regular accounting, but let’s just make this really simple over the long term. You know, sure, there’s going to be more costs than revenue, but if you stretch it over the long term, the benefits are massive and they will more than pay for that deficit. This is a no brainer.