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Vancouver loses FIFA World Cup bid for 2026

B.C. government criticized bid committee for not providing costs of international event
Provincial tourism minister Lisa Beare confirmed Wednesday that Vancouver would not be one of the ho
Provincial tourism minister Lisa Beare confirmed Wednesday that Vancouver would not be one of the host cities for the FIFA 2026 World Cup bid. Vancouver was in the running to host three to five games at B.C. Place Stadium.

The provincial government announced Wednesday it was not prepared to support bringing the men’s FIFA World Cup of soccer to Vancouver in 2026 because the bid committee failed to reveal “potentially huge” costs of hosting the world’s largest sporting event.

Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, issued a statement Wednesday saying the government met regularly with the bid committee but was not told of “the risks and obligations faced by British Columbians.”

Beare’s statement came after she learned Wednesday morning the bid committee dropped Vancouver as a potential host city for the World Cup.

"So far, the bid committee has rejected our requests to clarify how much British Columbians could be expected to contribute,” Beare said. “And they have declined to negotiate with the province regarding the concerns we raised. Should the bid committee reconsider, our door remains open to bringing some of the 2026 World Cup games to Vancouver."

Vancouver was not pursuing the bid alone, but part of a united push from Canada, the United States and Mexico. The three-nation committee selected Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal as potential host cities.

The prospect of continuing to negotiate is unlikely because the committee has a March 16 deadline to submit its bid to FIFA, the governing body for international soccer. The bid could still go forward, but without Vancouver as a host city.

The Courier left a message with Victor Montagliani, a Vancouver member of the United 2026 bid committee, but it was not returned before this story was posted.

The rejection of the bid was met with disappointment from the City of Vancouver, which issued a statement Wednesday. City staff was working with a local advisory group, which included Whitecaps’ president Bob Lenarduzzi, to bring three to five games to B.C. Place Stadium.

“The city is extremely disappointed that Vancouver’s bid to be a FIFA 2026 World Cup host city is currently not being considered, as we believe hosting the biggest sporting event on earth would have offered significant economic benefits,” the statement said. “Vancouver remains a city with an exceptional sports hosting history and we look forward to working with the province and our Sport Hosting Vancouver team to identify future international sporting events that bring positive economic and cultural impact to Vancouver.”

The provincial government owns B.C. Place Stadium and Beare noted one of the government’s main concerns was for FIFA’s “ability to unilaterally change the stadium agreement at any point. That adds unknown costs and unknown risks to B.C. taxpayers,” she said, noting security and other costs had still not been worked out between governments and the bid committee.

Added Beare: “We’re looking at possible stadium upgrade costs, the turf field that has to be in place — none of those concerns were addressed by the bid committee.”

The local advisory group pushing to get the bid made a presentation in January to city council but did not provide an overall budget. The presenters told council total costs for Vancouver were not finalized because FIFA had to first decide in June which country or countries will get the 2026 event; Morocco is the only competing bid.

Some of the costs revealed for Vancouver were $10 million to $20 million needed to create a 35-day long festival for fans, where the public could view live games at sites similar to those created for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

“There’s also an expectation that city services outside of the outer security perimeter that will surround B.C. Place for the competition venue will be provided by the City of Vancouver,” said Michelle Collens, the city’s manager of sport hosting, who outlined the bid process to council in a Jan. 30 presentation. “This would include traffic management plans, bylaw enforcement, sanitation and potentially lost revenue such as lost parking meter revenue. At this time, costs are not terminable, as scope, responsibilities and obligations are still to be defined.”

Collens’ presentation was followed by a few words from Lenarduzzi, who successfully urged council to support the bid, saying “I don’t want to downplay our importance as Canadians and as Vancouverites, but this opportunity is not coming along again.”

B.C. Liberal MLA Jas Johal issued a statement, accusing the NDP-led provincial government of pulling “the rug out from under soccer fans and the tourism industry.” Johal noted other provinces “have come to arrangements” but the government is the lone jurisdiction who has “failed to come to the table.”

“The minister should now provide all the facts as to why the B.C. NDP was unable to reach an agreement to participate in this unprecedented chance to promote the province,” he said.

News of Vancouver’s loss of the bid came the day after Kirsty Duncan, the federal minister of sport and persons with disabilities, announced the federal government’s “support in principle” to host the world’s best soccer players in Canada.

mhowell@vancourier.com

@Howellings