Bob Mackin
Vancouver city hall has spent more than it budgeted for access to FIFA World Cup matches at B.C. Place Stadium.
Last July, theBreaker.news reported that City of Vancouver set aside $13.4 million to buy seats, suites and lounges from FIFA contractor On Location. The New York company is led by Donald Trump’s former agent Ari Emanuel and its minority shareholders include Trump’s Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon.
On May 25, the host committee told theBreaker.news that it spent $14.4 million on “purchased assets.”
Vancouver City Hall, dressed in FIFA World Cup colours and logo, and the Capt. George Vancouver statue. (Mackin)
City hall holds approximately 9,000 tickets — a mix of general admission and suite and lounge tickets. Of these, 1,600 were provided under the host city agreement and 7,400 were bought by the city.
The host committee says that, of the 7,400 purchased, approximately 4,700 reserved seating tickets were via the option to buy 1.5% of B.C. Place Stadium capacity.
The majority held by the city are being sold via the local market sponsorship program, but details of the program’s sales are “commercially sensitive and therefore at this time confidential.”
Under the FIFA-approved, Host City Supporters/Host City Champions regional sponsorship program, hospitality packages are for sale beginning at $195,000.
The city plans to allocate 216 tickets to value-in-kind trades or other beneficial uses, 350 for community youth and children’s groups and 56 for hosting partners, such as Vancouver International Airport.
In New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani campaigned against exorbitant ticket prices. He negotiated with the host committee to put 1,000 tickets on sale to matches in New Jersey for $50 each via lottery.
TKO
TKO Group Holdings Ltd., parent company of On Location, reported that it “significantly exceeded” previous World Cup hospitality sales in June 2025, a year before the event.
On May 6, it told shareholders that “approximately USD$582.4 million of net pre-payments held in escrow related to FIFA World Cup 26.”
Directors include Jonathan Kraft, co-owner of FIFA 26 venue Gillette Stadium via the Kraft Group.
FOI
When theBreaker.news asked to see invoices last year, City of Vancouver provided censored pages. A complaint to B.C.’s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner is proceeding to an adjudicated inquiry.
In the city’s 2025 statement of financial information, it reported paying On Location $600,386. It refuses to say how much it has spent in 2026 so far.
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