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2026 World Cup - News, Updates and discussions


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3 minutes ago, TGAA_Star said:

Toronto FIFA Fan Fest will most likely be at CNE just outside the Stadium or do they do it at Scotiabank Arena outside like at Jurassic Park?

Almost certainly at CNE near the stadium. They can connect sponsor activations to the stadium site itself and unlike Jurassic Park is in a larger space with room for other amenities.

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1 hour ago, RJB said:

https://www.tsn.ca/fifa-world-cup/toronto-says-world-cup-cost-estimate-now-at-380m-cites-additional-match-1.2081237

How is it that six games will cost this much money!?  What's the point of hosting?  Not too keen to see how much it will cost Vancouver!

Is that net of revenues, direct & indirect? There's a broad revenue impact to hosting these games. Hospitality industry, consumption taxes, tourism etc

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2 hours ago, RJB said:

https://www.tsn.ca/fifa-world-cup/toronto-says-world-cup-cost-estimate-now-at-380m-cites-additional-match-1.2081237

How is it that six games will cost this much money!?  What's the point of hosting?  Not too keen to see how much it will cost Vancouver!

Like I don’t get it what do people expect it’s the World frigging Cup it’s going to cost money no matter how many games you host . You are basically hosting 6 Super Bowls in one city within like two weeks more or less it’s going to cost money . 

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Will 2026 FIFA World Cup be worth it to Toronto? Too late (thestar.com)

When I saw the headline on this piece I went, Uh no, not again!    But when I actually read it,  I thought that he hit all the right notes.   And it very much summarized my thought on hosting these kind of events and why I am in favour.   

***

Quote #1:  " Is it worth it? .....For some of our politicians, it may be too late to ask that question. But for the rest of us, it may be a hard one to answer, partly because it depends on what you mean by "worth it."

Some families spend $10,000 on a trip to Disney World. Do they get a good return on their investment? Well, it depends on the family, and depends on what kind of return you are looking at. If you're thinking they could have otherwise spent that money on university education for their children, retirement investments, job skills upgrade training for mom or dad — well, those sorts of options would be more likely to turn into more money. If they needed that money to feed themselves or pay rent, then clearly those things would seem more important. 

But people don't go there because they think it will return financial dividends. They go because they want a fun experience they'll remember fondly for the rest of their lives. So their estimation of the value will depend more on how much they love Disney stuff, theme parks, their tolerance for crowds, and stuff like that. Many of them judge it totally worth it. "

Quote #2: But here's the thing, in Toronto's case with FIFA 2026: we aren't the hosts. We're the co-hosts. One of 16 cities across three countries who will share that distinction. And in this ensemble cast, we aren't really playing a starring role, either: Toronto will host six games of the total of 104 matches scheduled for the event. Five will be preliminaries for a newly expanded opening pool (including Team Canada's opening game), one will be an elimination game in the knockout round of 32 (one of 16 such games)."

Quote #3: "This city is honking hog wild for the World Cup, no matter where it is held. It's a good bet we'll enjoy having a share of it in our backyard. That doesn't mean it won't turn out to be a financial fiasco, or that any of us should pretend otherwise if it turns out that's the case. I mean, these things always turn out to be financial fiascos. You just hope it will also be a lot of fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Free kick
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On 2/26/2024 at 6:31 PM, TGAA_Star said:

Toronto FIFA Fan Fest will most likely be at CNE just outside the Stadium or do they do it at Scotiabank Arena outside like at Jurassic Park?

Probably will end up with the CNE, but I think a cool spot would be to do it at the Ontario Place grounds with Budweiser Stage + Echo Beach

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17 hours ago, Kadenge said:

Then again we have the Arrive Canada app, etc, etc, etc

Exactly.   I was going to make the same point.   You could tune almost any night to the news and hear a story of of financial mismanagement of public funds.   

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Yes I think the article nails it. I absolutely love football but when I tell people I'm excited but not overly excited about the World Cup coming to Vancouver they get confused. It's because I enjoy football all the time. I don't need the World Cup or Messi to enjoy the sport. I love the World Cup I love Messi but when you think about the value it's ridiculous. So many people treat sports like a tourist attraction or a fomo occasion so it just turns in to a bidding war. I'm just more excited for the energy of the World Cup to come to town and hopefully some things get built that we can enjoy going forward. The amphitheater at PNE is a great example. The upgrades to BC Place are another good example. I really dont get how Montreal let the WC come and  go and not use it as an excuse to do something about the BigO. That's insane in my opinion 

As far as our government wasting money on nothing or what amounts to jobs for buddies or creating a system where voters are beholden to them lol don't even get me started

Edited by SpursFlu
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7 hours ago, Approve My Account Pls said:

Probably will end up with the CNE, but I think a cool spot would be to do it at the Ontario Place grounds with Budweiser Stage + Echo Beach

I actually like that idea 

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On 2/26/2024 at 7:42 PM, RJB said:

That's the question I'd like to see a detailed answer to.  I get it will cost some money, and that's fine, but $380 million?  Six sold out matches will draw 240 000 fans.  So that's just about $1600 for each fan who attends.  What exactly is being done with that money?  Pretty sure Taylor Swift isn't spending $380 million to draw 300 000 fans to six dates at Skydome this fall.

On 3/2/2024 at 6:22 PM, Kadenge said:

Then again we have the Arrive Canada app, etc, etc, etc

We do, but the fact that someone did one stupid, wasteful thing doesn't mean we should do another.  If anything, stuff like ArriveCan should teach us how not do be financially stupid in the future.

And I'm in favour of co-hosting the World Cup; I'd just like some rationale as to why the cost is so high.

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14 minutes ago, Kingston said:

That's the question I'd like to see a detailed answer to.  I get it will cost some money, and that's fine, but $380 million?  Six sold out matches will draw 240 000 fans.  So that's just about $1600 for each fan who attends.  What exactly is being done with that money?  Pretty sure Taylor Swift isn't spending $380 million to draw 300 000 fans to six dates at Skydome this fall.

Taylor Swift shows don't come with required fan zones, practice facilities, etc. all around the city. There's no added infrastructure required other than what her own team brings with them for set up in the stadium.

Then you have security for all of these places, which will all be airport-level.

So yes, if you were to compare simply the costs of putting on a Taylor Swift show vs. a soccer game there shouldn't be much disparity, but there's a lot more going on over a much bigger area during a World Cup than what Swift would need during a concert tour.

I'm not justifying the massive price tag, just pointing out how it should easily dwarf any traveling concert production, even Swift's.

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4 minutes ago, RS said:

Then you have security for all of these places, which will all be airport-level.

Security is the largest driving force of increased hosting costs in the past two decades. I imagine this makes up a good chunk of the expenditure required for Toronto's WC matches.

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10 minutes ago, Kingston said:

That's the question I'd like to see a detailed answer to.  I get it will cost some money, and that's fine, but $380 million?  Six sold out matches will draw 240 000 fans.  So that's just about $1600 for each fan who attends.  What exactly is being done with that money?  Pretty sure Taylor Swift isn't spending $380 million to draw 300 000 fans to six dates at Skydome this fall.

We do, but the fact that someone did one stupid, wasteful thing doesn't mean we should do another.  If anything, stuff like ArriveCan should teach us how not do be financially stupid in the future.

And I'm in favour of co-hosting the World Cup; I'd just like some rationale as to why the cost is so high.

The ArriveCan debacle was corruption which resulted in  tax money going into a few pockets. It wasn't incompetence and it's not a one off. There are numerous other debacles coming to light now. All levels of govts have been spending and wasting taxpayer money for what seems like forever and often for very little return or tangible benefits. Not saying it's OK to continue that way, but the World Cup is a convenient target for some to pick on.

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10 minutes ago, Mihairokov said:

Security is the largest driving force of increased hosting costs in the past two decades. I imagine this makes up a good chunk of the expenditure required for Toronto's WC matches.

I've heard security mentioned before.  I agree, it's needed but I already get scanned for NHL games and the like.  It's something we know how to do.  And for $1600 per fan per game you could hire an individual security guard for each person in attendance to every game.

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22 minutes ago, Kingston said:

I've heard security mentioned before.  I agree, it's needed but I already get scanned for NHL games and the like.

How much do you think that costs the NHL each season? Hired security, scanning gates, etc.

22 minutes ago, Kingston said:

 It's something we know how to do.  And for $1600 per fan per game you could hire an individual security guard for each person in attendance to every game.

Knowing how to do it doesn't make it any cheaper. This is the world we live in. I can only imagine FIFA has specific criteria for security which goes above and beyond what others may require.

Edited by Mihairokov
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But when it comes to watching games in Vancouver or in Toronto come 2026, I can imagine for locals the ticket prices will be cheaper vs that of any of the fans for the other 47 countries...for their fans to fly over here from overseas to watch games here...it is probably going to be more expensive for them to watch games 

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8 hours ago, Kingston said:

I've heard security mentioned before.  I agree, it's needed but I already get scanned for NHL games and the like.  It's something we know how to do.  And for $1600 per fan per game you could hire an individual security guard for each person in attendance to every game.

I've been to NHL. I also went to hockey games in Vancouver during the Olympics. It's a different level of security. Not to mention the heavy military presence on street corners at times.

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15 hours ago, Mihairokov said:

How much do you think that costs the NHL each season? Hired security, scanning gates, etc.

Far less than $63 million per game?

The internet tells me airport-style metal detectors can be purchased for anywhere between $1000 and $6000.  Those metal detecting wand things seem to go for about $350.  So we could hire a guard (8 hours * $40 = $320) and buy them a wand ($350) for literally every fan and still have over $900 per fan left for other things.

Anyway, I'll let it go at that.  But I'd love to see something from those in charge to justify the cost with substantially more detail than "it's the World Cup, of course it costs a ridiculous amount, trust us".

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2 hours ago, Kingston said:

Far less than $63 million per game?

The internet tells me airport-style metal detectors can be purchased for anywhere between $1000 and $6000.  Those metal detecting wand things seem to go for about $350.  So we could hire a guard (8 hours * $40 = $320) and buy them a wand ($350) for literally every fan and still have over $900 per fan left for other things.

Anyway, I'll let it go at that.  But I'd love to see something from those in charge to justify the cost with substantially more detail than "it's the World Cup, of course it costs a ridiculous amount, trust us".

I think the problem is you're thinking too small. It's not just "extra guards with a wand at the stadium on the day of the game". It's "city wide, increased police/military presence, for the duration of the event".

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On 3/6/2024 at 9:54 AM, Watchmen said:

I think the problem is you're thinking too small. It's not just "extra guards with a wand at the stadium on the day of the game". It's "city wide, increased police/military presence, for the duration of the event".

So totally for fun I looked it up.

The budget for the entire Canadian Armed Forces is $500 million per week.  Let's say the duration of the event in Toronto is about two weeks.  For $380 million, we could therefore hire more than one-third of the entire military for two weeks.  That would give us at least:

Four frigates, four costal defense ships, and one or two submarines off-shore in Lake Ontario.

Thirty CF-18s flying air patrol above the stadium plus a bunch of helicopters and, if we need them, refueling and troop transport aircraft.  

About 500 armored combat vehicles (from main battle tanks on downward), 75 artillery pieces, a bunch of anti-aircraft weapons, and several thousand infantry.

Looks like we have security covered!  :)

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