Bob Mackin
More than a dozen people working in Vancouver city hall’s FIFA World Cup secretariat are paid in excess of $10,000-a-month, according to a November payroll report obtained by theBreaker.news.
Kenny Gemmill, the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services Lead, led the list at $15,756.
Rounding out the top five: Taunya Geelhoed, operations lead ($13,249.50), Kristen Jasper, manager of operational readiness ($12,670.50), Rosemary Hagiwara, coordination and alignment lead ($12,670.50) and Alejandra Cerbon, senior manager of financial planning and analysis ($12,477). The list was released to theBreaker.news on Feb. 24 via freedom of information.
As of November, there were around three-dozen people working in the office, under Host Committee Executive Lead Jessie Adcock.
Adcock invoiced for $40,005 last September and $408,871.25 in October under her contract, which pays $300-an-hour for: “Leading a multi-departmental and multi-agency team (the FWC2026 Host Committee/Secretariat) that is responsible for a comprehensive set of event planning and delivery activities.”
In 2024, Adcock billed for almost $470,000. Police Chief Adam Palmer ($487,224) was the only civic employee ahead of Adcock.
Obtained from City of Vancouver via Freedom of Information.
More provincial money on the way?
A March 17 news conference has been called for city hall, featuring Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Anne Kang and Mayor Ken Sim.
The topic: The FIFA Fan Festival at Hastings Park.
The schedule shows it open for 26 of the 39 tournament days. Free viewing at big screens around the fairgrounds, but paid admission under the roof at the new $183.7 million amphitheatre.
The original plan was to be open every day of the 104-match tournament, with free admission to watch matches on the screen in the new venue.
Sim made a not-so-subtle appeal to the NDP government for help with a motion to the Feb. 4 standing committee on city finance and services. He requested “general admission to the PNE Amphitheatre be made free of charge… to ensure families, youth and residents of all incomes can participate in and enjoy the tournament.”
Planning for similar events in fellow host cities has also proven a challenge. The Fan Festival in New Jersey, which was charging $10 for admission, was cancelled. Seattle scaled down the main Seattle Center site and added three smaller sites.
Tax trouble
As of last July, Vancouver city hall had raised almost $89 million from the 2.5% accommodation tax to help pay for hosting FIFA World Cup 26. But, rising costs mean the tax measure could fall as much as $38 million short by the early 2030 deadline.
Last June’s B.C. government World Cup spending update showed civic costs alone were estimated at $261 million to $281 million. The city was forecasting $250 million to $260 million in revenue under the temporary tax.
In 2022, when Vancouver became one of the 16 host cities, the estimated cost of bringing the tournament to B.C. Place Stadium was $240 million to $260 million. It has since ballooned to as much as $624 million for seven matches between June 13-July 7.
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