{"id":803339,"date":"2026-07-15T11:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T11:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/803339\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T11:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T11:04:10","slug":"for-some-vancouver-businesses-the-city-fell-short-of-its-world-cup-promise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/803339\/","title":{"rendered":"For some Vancouver businesses, the city fell short of its World Cup promise"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the first Saturday of Vancouver\u2019s World Cup run, Susanna Ng expected a big day at New Town Bakery and Restaurant.<\/p>\n

For nearly five decades, the Chinatown institution has served regulars, cruise ship passengers and visitors from across Canada and the US. Even Prime Minister Mark Carney stopped there during a\u00a0November visit to Vancouver<\/a> to sample the bakery\u2019s well-known Cantonese pastries.<\/p>\n

Summer is usually the restaurant\u2019s busiest season. But this year, Ng said, sales fell in June, something she barely remembered happening in her 46 years running the restaurant. That first match-day weekend was so quiet she sent servers home early.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you believe it? It was a Saturday,\u201d said Ng, who lived through Expo \u201886 and the 2010 Winter Olympics, when visitors moved more widely through the city and Chinatown felt busier. \u201cWe usually need a full shift. But on that day, we had no business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ng is among many business owners who say they prepared for a surge after city officials promoted the World Cup as a major economic opportunity. Now that Vancouver\u2019s final match is over, they say the promised boost never happened.<\/p>\n

\"\" Fans watch Canada play South Africa on Granville Street in Vancouver on June 28, 2026. Photo by: Sonal Gupta \/ Canada\u2019s National Observer.High hopes, low returns<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0May press release<\/a>, Mayor Ken Sim called hosting FIFA World Cup games \u201ca once-in-a-generation opportunity to generate immediate economic benefits for Vancouver while creating lasting long-term legacies.\u201d Sports bars and venues\u00a0near Granville Street<\/a> and official fan areas saw strong traffic, but many others say the surge never materialized.<\/p>\n

The economic case for hosting mega-events is often overstated, said Andrew Zimbalist, an American sports economist who has studied major sporting events including the Olympics and World Cup. He said host cities may attract soccer fans while losing regular visitors who avoid crowds, congestion, higher prices or security concerns \u2014 a dynamic known as \u201ccrowding out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question is, how many people are deterred from going versus how many people come?\u201d Zimbalist said.<\/p>\n

Media reports of sky-high hotel prices in Vancouver kept visitors away months before the tournament, even\u00a0as rooms remained available<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At Chambar, a well-known Belgian restaurant near BC Place, owner Karri Green said the restaurant even hosted screenings and after-parties tied to Belgium matches. But despite being steps from the stadium, she said the rush never came.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe danger of the city making economic impact promises is that when somebody promises you that, then you invest,\u201d she said. \u201cScreens \u2014 TVs \u2014 extra glassware. There\u2019s a lot of investment to scale up when you\u2019re expecting a big influx of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" Fans cheer during Canada\u2019s match against South Africa on Granville Street in Vancouver on June 28, 2026. Photo by: Sonal Gupta \/ Canada\u2019s National Observer.<\/p>\n

Green estimated Chambar\u2019s revenues were down about 20 per cent compared with a normal summer period. Road closures and traffic restrictions were part of the city\u2019s match-day security planning, but she said businesses often got details late, leaving staff unable to answer customers\u2019 questions about access, parking or taxis.<\/p>\n

Two blocks from BC Place, Malindi Taylor, director of sales for Fanny Bay Oyster Bar & Shellfish Market, said staff put up screens, listed the oyster bar as a watch-party venue and scheduled extra shifts after business and industry meetings about expected visitor numbers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did everything they encouraged,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cBut we just did not see the push that we were kind of told was coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of the lack of rush may have been due to the expected rush itself; Taylor said locals had been warned so often to expect congestion that many avoided downtown. After two quiet weeks, business evened out to something like a normal June, but \u201cthere was no big boost from FIFA for our business,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In an email to\u00a0Canada\u2019s National Observer, a Vancouver Host Committee spokesperson said hosting the World Cup \u201cwas never solely an economic exercise\u201d and was also a chance to bring communities together, celebrate soccer and strengthen partnerships for future major events.<\/p>\n

Vancouver\u2019s publicly reported World Cup costs are projected at\u00a0around $700 million<\/a>, higher than most US host cities. The committee said rising costs were driven mainly by safety and security, projected at $242 million but partly offset by $100 million in federal funding. The spokesperson said benefits unfold over time through destination awareness, future visits and business opportunities, with final costs and benefits expected in spring 2027.<\/p>\n

\"\" Algeria fans walk near BC Place before the Switzerland-Algeria match in Vancouver on July 2, 2026. Photo by: Sonal Gupta \/ Canada\u2019s National Observer.<\/p>\n

Provincial estimates projected Vancouver\u2019s World Cup matches\u00a0would generate about $1 billion<\/a> in GDP during the tournament and over the next five years.<\/p>\n

Moshe Lander, a Canadian economist and senior lecturer in economics at Concordia University, said the response reflects a shift in how officials defend mega-events when immediate returns are harder to prove. \u201cThey\u2019re redefining what the objectives were,\u201d Lander said. \u201cThey\u2019re moving the goalposts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lander said governments often promote mega-events on economic grounds, then later emphasize civic pride, celebration and long-term exposure. Strong reviews of Vancouver as a host city may help officials point to global exposure, but that does not answer whether the spending delivered the economic return initially promised.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they had said eight years ago, \u2018This is not an economic exercise, this is just a really cool opportunity,\u2019 I\u2019m all in,\u201d he said. \u201cBut they sold us a false bill of goods.\u201d<\/p>\n

Economists say the structure of the World Cup leaves host cities with much of the risk:\u00a0FIFA controls major revenue streams<\/a>, including broadcast rights, sponsorships, ticket sales and in-stadium advertising, while local governments cover many of the costs needed to stage the event. During negotiations over the tournament in 2018, BC and Vancouver\u00a0briefly withdrew from the process<\/a>, citing unclear and risky financial terms in FIFA\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n

Celebration without a payoff<\/p>\n

On match days, fans filled the route between BC Place, Granville Street and the fan festivals. Business owners said the energy was contagious, even if the sales did not always follow.<\/p>\n

\"\" Crowds fill Granville Street in Vancouver during Canada\u2019s match against South Africa on June 28, 2026. Photo by: Sonal Gupta \/ Canada\u2019s National Observer.<\/p>\n

Green said the World Cup reminded people of Canada\u2019s diversity and gave Vancouver a rare moment of collective joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did that do for our communities to bring people together?\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have economic metrics for that, but it\u2019s pretty priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jo\u00ebl Watanabe, executive chef and owner of Kissa Tanto, Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie and Meo, said estimated sales fell by roughly 10 to 50 per cent across his three businesses, though broader economic conditions may also have played a role.<\/p>\n

Watanabe said he had been skeptical that the event would deliver economic returns for local businesses, especially in Chinatown, where he felt visitors were being steered away from a neighbourhood that can appear rougher to outsiders but normally does well with summer tourists.<\/p>\n

To Watanabe, the promise of long-term benefits sounded more like political messaging than business reality. \u201cI\u2019d much rather you tell me, \u2018yeah, this is not going to be great for you economically, but we\u2019re doing it anyway,\u2019 than tell me it\u2019s going to be good for me when the reality is it isn\u2019t,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\" BC Place, Vancouver\u2019s World Cup stadium, on July 2, 2026. Photo by: Sonal Gupta \/ Canada\u2019s National Observer.<\/p>\n

Watanabe said Vancouver already draws visitors because of its mountains, beaches, clean water and natural beauty, not because it hosted a handful of soccer matches.<\/p>\n

For restaurants already facing high rents, property taxes, food costs and labour pressures, even a short disruption can hurt, Green said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe greatest hope is that Vancouver showed off how wonderful it is as a city,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I would put an asterisk next to: it was successful for businesses in the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sonal Gupta \/ Local Journalism Initiative \/ Canada’s National Observer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the first Saturday of Vancouver\u2019s World Cup run, Susanna Ng expected a big day at New Town…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":803340,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[49,48,55],"class_list":["post-803339","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\/803339","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=803339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/803340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}