Bob Mackin
Five-hundred days until B.C. Place Stadium’s first FIFA World Cup 26 match on June 13, 2026.
But the Vancouver host city committee’s top executive is not talking about the milestone.
FIFA vice-president Vic Montagliani (left), FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Vancouver host city committee lead Jessie Adcock, Oct. 15, 2024 at B.C. Place Stadium (FIFA)
theBreaker.news unsuccessfully requested an interview with Jessie Adcock, who is entering the second year of a $270,000-a-year contract.
“Our host committee lead is currently focused on project delivery,” replied spokesperson Natasha Qereshniku.
Like Vancouver, Miami is scheduled to host seven matches.
Unlike Vancouver, Miami officials spoke to local media after last week’s two-day workshop for heads of the 16 North American host city committees. They gathered at tournament headquarters in Coral Gables, Fla., where FIFA president Gianni Infantino headlined the meetings.
Rodney Barreto, chair of the Miami host city committee, told the Miami Herald there is confusion about the number of tickets and suites available under FIFA’s new program that allows host cities to sell up to 10 local sponsorships. The local sponsors, however, must not be in categories that conflict with any of FIFA’s existing or prospective commercial relationships. They are not allowed to use FIFA branding.
“To be honest, we’re a little frustrated with FIFA because they haven’t cut us loose yet; they’ve kind of tied our hands with respect to what we can offer sponsors,” Barreto told the Herald.
More questions than answers
With 500 days to go, there are more questions than answers for Vancouverites in three key operational areas.
Security: How much will it cost?
theBreaker.news was first to report that city hall seeks a contractor to supply 200 surveillance cameras and integrate them in a network with as many as 1,000 existing cameras. Drones were identified as a major security risk in an affidavit last year to an Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner adjudication.
That fence around B.C. Place during the Taylor Swift Eras Tour finale weekend? A bigger one is coming in 2026. Also expect to see more barriers and bollards to prevent a repeat of the New Orleans New Year’s Day truck attack.
Transportation: Do you live, work or play around Northeast False Creek? Brace yourself for road closures on each match day and the day preceding each match day. B.C. Place general manager Chris May’s map in a Twitter photo last year conjured memories of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics closures.
Accommodation: It might be easier to score a ticket than a room in the city in June and July 2026. Even before FIFA picked Vancouver in 2022, the city was struggling with a hotel room shortage.
An MNP report for Destination Vancouver said inventory had fallen from 15,242 rooms in 2002 to 13,290 in 2022. The province cracked down last year on short-term rentals, limiting Airbnb and Vrbo hosts to renting one room in their principal residence plus one additional unit.
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