Vancouver’s Science World has been transformed into a soccer ball for the World Cup.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
The B.C. government says it could cost the province and the City of Vancouver up to $114-million to host Vancouver’s seven World Cup games once revenues and federal funding is accounted for.
In its latest fiscal update Friday, two weeks before the tournament hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico begins, the province said it now expects the total cost of hosting the tournament to be in the range of $685-million and $729-million. And, for the first time, the province also revealed price tag for policing the World Cup events: Sport and Tourism Minister Anne Kang said it will cost an estimated $242-million.
The estimated price tag for hosting Vancouver’s games has swelled from roughly $240-million in 2022 to $624-million a year ago, shared between all three levels of government, The Globe and Mail reported earlier this year.
Asked about the ballooning price of the games, Ms. Kang said the World Cup will bring lasting benefits of more tourism to the region, including adding a billion extra dollars to B.C.’s gross domestic product over the next five years.