Toronto is gearing up to host the 2026 World Cup, an event set to bring both excitement and economic opportunity to the city. With the tournament scheduled to commence in the city, Toronto will play host to six matches, including five first-round games and one playoff round. The price tag for hosting this prestigious global event is estimated at $380 million, with anticipated contributions of $200 million from federal and provincial governments.
In a bid to maximize the economic benefits of the World Cup, the City of Toronto's World Cup committee is exploring options to purchase ticket packages directly from FIFA. Although the cost of these ticket packages remains undetermined, the city's special event reserve fund has been earmarked to cover the expenses.
The subcommittee has recommended using the special event reserve fund to secure these packages, aiming to resell them to major corporations. This strategy is intended not only to recoup costs but also to generate profit from the resale. However, details regarding the Canadian corporations under consideration for purchasing these packages have yet to be disclosed.
Sharon Bollenbach remarked on the city's strategic approach:
“We have an opportunity as a host city to sell commercial sales packages, varying types of packages and degrees, and part of it is a hospitality program for matches for corporations to purchase suites and to purchase tickets.”
The city's initiative has sparked discussions among councillors, who are set to meet on March 26 to vote on the proposal. While some see this as an opportunity for business retention and attraction, others express concerns about potential pricing practices.
Brad Bradford, City Councillor for Ward 19, shared his perspective:
“When you buy tickets at one price and mark it up at a different price, you know I don’t have the definition of scalping, but that’s my understanding of it, and I think that’s the public understanding of it as well.”
The city aims to pre-purchase hospitality aspects of the event to secure them from external vendors and ensure revenue stays within the host city. Sharon Bollenbach emphasized the importance of this strategy:
“What we are recommending is that we pre-purchase some of these hospitality aspects, so we secure and protect them from external vendors and, therefore, lose the revenue for our host city.”
