![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\nThe Canadian team has had a historic run in this World Cup, defeating South Africa 1-0 in Los Angeles on Sunday and moving to the round of 16 when it faces Morocco in Houston this Saturday.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
Tostenson said he thinks Saturday\u2019s match will be \u201cthe ultimate,\u201d noting most bars and restaurants in the city that are planning to stream the game are opening for business around 9 a.m. ahead of the 10 a.m. kickoff.<\/p>\n
Jane Talbot, CEO of the Downtown Business Improvement Association, said the atmosphere in Vancouver\u2019s downtown core has been \u201cincredibly positive,\u201d and that \u201cCanada\u2019s run has only added to that momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe days that Canada plays, whether they\u2019re in town or they\u2019re somewhere else, it is electric down there,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Talbot said her team is responsible for the Granville Street pedestrian zone, which spans five blocks.<\/p>\n
She said the bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants are all doing very well but noted that every business has a different experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur pubs are really busy, our restaurants are really busy, our clubs are super busy, you know, record-breaking sales,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Good Co. Granville is among them.<\/p>\n
Nate Sabine, director of business development for Blueprint, which owns the sports bar, said it has been \u201cshockingly busy\u201d since the World Cup kicked off last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve never had a business in our 30-year history that did this type of sales volume in a single month,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n
Sabine credits the pedestrianization of Granville Street with the success, saying it has become a hub for fans.<\/p>\n
He noted the busiest nights are when Canada plays, noting reservations for Saturday\u2019s game sold out \u201cimmediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he said there is high traffic no matter which teams are playing. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis whole FIFA thing \u2014 it\u2019s been an unexpected pleasant surprise,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Videos posted to social media on Tuesday after Mexico beat Ecuador 2-0 showed Granville Street packed with chanting Mexican fans, who were setting off green smoke canisters and waving the national flag. <\/p>\n
The win ended Mexico\u2019s 40-year knockout drought and sent the team to the round-of-16. They will face England in Mexico City on Sunday. <\/p>\n
The celebrations appear to have prompted a police traffic advisory that was issued around 10 p.m. Tuesday, telling drivers to find alternate routes as Granville and Smithe streets were closed to vehicles. <\/p>\n
Sabine said the fans were clearly in \u201chigh spirits\u201d after Mexico\u2019s victory, but added that, despite the \u201cabsolute craziness\u201d that can ensue, fans have remained respectful.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t had any incidents or any issues within our venue, which is really nice, because when energy is that high, things can happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
While excitement around the tournament has created a boom for many of Granville\u2019s establishments, Talbot noted \u201cnot every business is having the same level of success.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she said the silver lining is that all businesses along the strip are seeing increased foot traffic, \u201cwhich is great because if they come in and they experience the store once and they like it, they\u2019re likely to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the tournament progresses, now in the knockout rounds, there are fewer games being played each day. Talbot said it is only natural that will slow business slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think anybody expects the level of crowds that we\u2019ve had for the first two weeks to continue right through the end, but I do think we all expect it to remain a fun, vibrant, exciting place.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Canadian team has had a historic run in this World Cup, defeating South Africa 1-0 in Los…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":774045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[49,48,55],"class_list":["post-774044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vancouver","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=774044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/774045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=774044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=774044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=774044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}