Bob Mackin
An adjudicator has ordered the taxpayer-owned operator of B.C. Place Stadium to reveal more information about the promises made to FIFA.
In an Aug. 19 ruling, Jay Fedorak from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) rejected pleadings by B.C. Pavilion Corporation (PavCo) to keep portions of correspondence, a questionnaire and the host stadium contract secret.
PavCo said it feared disclosure of more information to theBreaker.news about the 2026 World Cup would harm law enforcement and public safety, intergovernmental relations and the business interests of FIFA.
The centre-hung videoboard at BC Place, to be replaced in early 2025 (Mackin)
What the adjudicator said
“It is clear that the province has particular goals for these negotiations, and it is possible that premature disclosure of these goals may negatively impact its ability to achieve them. However, regardless of how this might affect the outcome of these particular negotiations, it is not evident that disclosure would also go so far as to damage the conduct of relations between the two levels of government.”
The one area where Fedorak agreed with PavCo was about protecting information that could harm the Crown corporation’s financial interests. But he dismissed PavCo’s wish to keep rental costs secret because PavCo recycled the same failed arguments from previous cases.
“Disclosing terms for one event would not compromise negotiations for another.”
What next
PavCo, which is spending $109 million to renovate B.C. Place to meet FIFA requirements, is required to comply with Fedorak’s order by Oct. 2.
The decision follows a ruling that saw the July 15 release of City of Vancouver’s host city contract with FIFA to theBreaker.news after Mayor Ken Sim errantly claimed it could not be released due to a non-disclosure agreement.
B.C. Place is hosting seven World Cup matches from June 13-July 7, 2026.
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