Bob Mackin
Playland and Empire Fields will remain open, but not the skateboard park, Italian Gardens and Momiji Japanese garden at Hastings Park during the FIFA Fan Festival for security reasons.
However, the free admission World Cup watch party will not operate every day of the June 11-July 19 tournament.
FIFA Fan Festival Hastings Park site map. (City of Vancouver)
During a Feb. 25 community meeting on Zoom, the chief operating officer of the local World Cup host committee said the site “will operate for a significant portion of that 39-day tournament.”
“Exact days and times are to be announced, but it will span that 39-day period, and exactly which matches will be broadcast, again, will all be announced in the coming weeks,” said Taunya Geelhoed.
Geelhoed also said: “Everything to do with which games will be shown, the hours of operation, the days of operating, exactly which concerts will be on, and when that information is coming in the following weeks.”
According to the city’s FIFA World Cup website, “the Festival runs on key days” between June 11-19, when 104 matches will be played in 11 U.S. cities, three in Mexico and Vancouver and Toronto.
Neither Geelhoed nor the head of the host city office, Jessie Adcock, responded to confirm which days the festival will be closed, which matches would not be shown or comment on the current budget (the 2023 estimate was $20 million). A person from the office, who did not provide their name, said by email that more information on the festival will be released next week.
A similar Fan Festival in New Jersey, which was charging $10 for admission, was cancelled. Seattle decided to scale down plans for the main site at Seattle Center and also hold watch parties at three other sites: Pacific Place, Waterfront Park and Victory Hall in SoDo.
Security closures
Geelhoed said it became “abundantly clear” that some spaces in Hastings Park could not remain open.
Dave Jones, co-lead of the FIFA World Cup integrated safety and security unit, said there will be fencing and an outer security perimeter around the site.
“In short, the skateboard park was in such close proximity it was actually contained within the footprint of it,” Jones said. “While looking at other possible options to keeping it open, the security levels and those involved in the design of the security for the site found no other alternative but to have to close off the site.”
Metal detectors
There will be a level of security at Hastings Park not seen since the Pacific Coliseum hosted figure skating and short-track speed skating during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Site capacity will be 25,000 and the centrepiece will be the new, $183 million Freedom Mobile Arch amphitheatre.
“While there’s no tickets, there will be limitations,” Jones said. “We call it prohibited item list. Certain items won’t be allowed in. That list will be published. There will be screening where people will walk through, call it metal detectors, in terms of it when they enter the site. And then, once in the site, they’re free to move around throughout the site.”
Jones said police, fire and medical personnel will be joined by private security, hosts and hostesses.
B.C. Place Stadium is hosting seven World Cup matches, beginning June 13.
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