A national government spending watchdog wants B.C. and the City of Vancouver to release the costs of hosting the 2026 FIFA Men香蕉视频直播檚 World Cup, warning of an escalating price tag.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation issued that call Thursday (March 14) after releasing the City of Toronto香蕉视频直播檚 hosting contract with soccer香蕉视频直播檚 world body. Toronto will host six games and Vancouver seven as two of 16 host cities spread across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The Taxpayers Federation obtained Toronto香蕉视频直播檚 contract through a freedom-of-information request. The hosting contracts of Seattle and Santa Clara near San Francisco are also publicly available.
香蕉视频直播淎ll of these contracts are essentially identical,香蕉视频直播� Carson Binda, president of the federation香蕉视频直播檚 B.C. chapter. 香蕉视频直播淭here are very, very, very minor difference between them, but by-and-large, word for word, they are the same. That suggests that Vancouver probably also has a very similar contract and that is worrying because these contracts essentially give FIFA a blank cheque to spend taxpayers money without accountability and without oversight from politicians or the taxpayer.香蕉视频直播�
Toronto香蕉视频直播檚 cost of hosting six games is estimated to have gone up by $80 million to almost $380 million.
This serves as water on the mills of critics, who say the costs of hosting the games far exceed their return.
Tourism Minister Lana Popham last month acknowledged that costs changed 香蕉视频直播渟ubstantially香蕉视频直播� from initial estimates. Provincial estimates from 2022 pegged the cost of hosting five games in Vancouver between $240 and $260 million. But those figures appeared before FIFA changed the format of the tournament in March 2023 by adding another knock-out round to accommodate a larger field.
Popham said Thursday costs have gone up because the number of games has gone up, but framed this as an investment.
香蕉视频直播淲e have a significant increase in opportunity and with that comes an increase in costs,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淪o with seven games, we have more security costs and so on. So we definitely had to redo some of those numbers from the initial estimates.香蕉视频直播� But two more games mean higher costs, they also mean more visitors, she said.
Government will release a 香蕉视频直播渇ull package香蕉视频直播� of the information it is legally able to release in a few weeks, Popham promised.
香蕉视频直播�(When) British Columbians see the information about the opportunities, the different types of programs we have, the revenue opportunities, they are going to be pleased.香蕉视频直播�
Binda likely won香蕉视频直播檛 be one of them.
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香蕉视频直播淲ell, if the minister thinks that B.C. businesses and taxpayers are going to better off for hosting FIFA, then I have some ocean front property in South Saskatchewan to sell her,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 ridiculous to think that businesses and taxpayers will be better off for hosting these few soccer games.香蕉视频直播�
Pointing to a 香蕉视频直播渨ealth of peer-reviewed香蕉视频直播� academic literature, hosting seven games won香蕉视频直播檛 be bring about a boost in tourism, Binda said.
Destination BC has estimated the global soccer tournament could draw an additional 269,000 visitors to the province, with about 50 per cent of them from outside Canada and the U.S. The province said earlier that the event could generate up to $1 billion in returns.
Carson called these promises 香蕉视频直播渧ague,香蕉视频直播� adding there is no strong argument for hosting the games. He added many of FIFA香蕉视频直播檚 requirements such as VIP suites and entrances come across as out of touch.
香蕉视频直播淎 lot of these upgrades that we are talking about here, are very much for the elite being paid for normal taxpayers,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淨uite frankly, it comes across as a big vanity project for the politicians.香蕉视频直播�
Binda, who calls himself a huge soccer fan, said this is an issue of accountability.
香蕉视频直播淚 think most British Columbians right now would prefer bread over circuses because many British Columbians are having a hard time even affording that bread,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淪o it香蕉视频直播檚 about priorities. Why is the provincial government and the City of Vancouver prioritizing hundreds of millions dollars for FIFA, when we are dealing with sky-high taxes, high inflation, an uncompetitive business environment?香蕉视频直播�
He also questioned the lack of transparency around the costs and sees the cost escalations as part of a systemic pattern.
香蕉视频直播淭ime and time and time again, the current government of British Columbia has shown that they are simply not responsible stewards of public finances and this is another example to add on to it.香蕉视频直播�
