Bob Mackin
Three-and-a-half years since being named one of the 16 tournament cities, managers planning the seven matches at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver next June and July finally went before microphones and cameras on Dec. 8.
Killarney Park in Vancouver (Mackin)
Cutting it close
Some $109 million is being spent on a new scoreboard, luxury suites, elevators, washrooms, locker rooms and a merchandise store at B.C. Place Stadium. When will it all be ready?
Stadium general manager Chris May: “Up until the last ‘caps game before the World Cup [April 25 vs. Colorado Rapids], there will be construction happening at the stadium, in and around the concourses to get us ready.”
Plan B: PNE Fan Festival
Can’t get tickets? For the duration of the 39-day tournament, Hastings Park will host the city’s official FIFA Fan Festival, with a big screen to watch matches in the new $183 million Freedom Mobile Arch amphitheatre — but it won’t be called that, due to FIFA rules.
Host city committee lead Jessie Adcock: “For those of you who don’t get a ticket, we’ll have a capacity of at least 25,000 people a day.”
The $18 million question
The three host first nations — Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh — are getting $6 million each from the province.
Tewanee Joseph, CEO of the Squamish Nation’s Major Sport Entertainment and Marquee Events Secretariat, dropped a hint about how some of that might be spent.
“We will be hosting 16 watch events in our community, which we’re inviting all people to come to our community,” Joseph said.
The $13.4 million question
Under a new FIFA program for local hosts, Vancouver city hall is buying VIP tickets, lounges and suites in bulk for resale to companies. But, as theBreaker.news found out, it is keeping secret the purchase details.
How many of the 10 regional sponsor slots have been filled?
Adcock: “We are still in the middle of all those sales conversations. We’re working in conjunction with the PavCo team to support us there. As of yet, have nothing to announce with respect to supporters that have crossed the finish line on a deal. We have number of donors that we’re working with as well. These are folks, that are not one of those official supporters, but they are organizations and groups and individuals across the city that really want success for us.”
Eye of the beholder
Coming next spring, a two-kilometre, so-called “beautification zone” around B.C. Place, including multiple rings of security barriers and fences. Organizers are pledging to minimize disruption.
Adcock: “We’re not asking any businesses to close, we’re not displacing anybody. There will be match day road closures and those are really about safety and security.”
Maps of street closures due to FIFA World Cup 26. (City of Vancouver)
Here today…
Vancouver Park Board officials showed-off the $24 million temporary training centre at Killarney Park, the practice pitch for Australia, Belgium, New Zealand, Qatar and Switzerland. Canada will train at the Whitecaps’ National Soccer Development Centre facility at UBC.
Killarney contains the same Fraser Valley-farmed, “hybrid sod” synthetic fibre reinforced natural grass surface to be installed in B.C. Place next spring.
But the August-installed pitch is not permanent.
Tiina Mack, planning and development director at the Park Board: “So the plan in time is to convert this to a synthetic surface. The underlying drainage and infrastructure supports that. I think it’ll be a few years up before we get there, our park operations team is quite excited to see how this elite performance turf performs for our recreation users. But the long-term goal, per the master plan for Killarney Park, is to have a synthetic turf field that can serve many more players year round.”
Last January, Vancouver city hall bowed to opposition from Memorial South Park users and neighbours and cancelled a second training pitch.
B.C. Place: Blessing/Curse
Adcock acknowledged the city’s double-edged sword. B.C. Place is centrally located by public transit, hotels and restaurants. It is also a minority among the 16 tournament cities.
Adcock: “We share this particular attribute with only two other host cities, and that’s Seattle and Atlanta. We have very, very urban stadiums, which mean that there are residential towers and businesses that are right, right, close. Most of the World Cup stadiums in the U.S. are removed from the city itself, and so you do have to travel to those. Our objective is to make sure that we maintain safety and security. And so we’ve been regularly communicating with businesses and communities and residents inside the area.”
The NDP government said last June that hosting FIFA World Cup 26 could cost B.C. as much as $624 million.
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