I was hoping we could host a few games as part of the North American Bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2026. Who wouldn't want a series of World Cup games played in this city?
When I heard the Gov't had withdrawn Vancouver as part of the North American bid, I thought, hmm typical making Vancouver the epitome of a "No Fun Zone" in North America.
Then I started to look at possible reasons why BC would not want to support a bid including BC Place for 2 or 3 games. Mexico would host a few games and the majority would be played in the USA. Pretty expensive when you break it down for three games. Most likely they would not include any premium top 8 teams either.
FIFA has been the subject of corruption over the past decade and they still are able to bully their way into a deal with countries that want to host the World Cup. This time BC has said, "thanks but no thanks" to FIFA.
In the end, this all may be a moot point as the Islamic countries are supposedly going to vote as a block against any games being played in the USA in retaliation to the #45's xenophobic stance towards Islam.
Mike Smyth from the Province details how the bid was sidetracked by FIFA because of all their conditions.
http://theprovince.com/opinion/columnists/mike-smyth-no-soccer-for-you-inside-the-governments-fight-with-fifa
Here is the complete article from the Province.
Columnist Mike Smyth writes about the B.C. government's challenge to FIFA that caused Vancouver to be dropped as a potential World Cup host city.
The opportunity to host World Cup soccer games was a dream scenario for Vancouver fans who hoped “the beautiful game” would visit our beautiful city in 2026.
But when B.C. Place officials sat down to analyze the contract terms demanded by FIFA — the corruption-plagued world governing body for soccer — the dream turned into a financial nightmare.
Now I can tell you some inside details of the proposed deal, which unravelled last week after the B.C. government demanded clarity on costs and renegotiation of key points.
B.C. Place is owned by the provincial government and managed by the B.C. Pavilion Corp., a Crown agency known as Pavco.
A “risk analysis” document prepared by Pavco officials outlined an astonishing series of non-negotiable contract terms from FIFA that would have burned taxpayers to a crisp.
They included a requirement that B.C. Place install not just one temporary natural-grass playing surface on top of the stadium’s existing artificial turf (installed just three years ago at a cost of $1.3 million).
The contract demanded a second “contingency pitch” just in case something went wrong with the first grass field and a new one had to be installed on short notice.
FIFA not only demanded two grass fields for B.C. Place, they also demanded two electricity supplies to the stadium in case of a power failure.
A “second separate source of power supply for the stadium” would be “entirely and wholly the responsibility of the stadium and host city,” the risk assessment said.
“Pavco flagged that for us right at the beginning — they have a single power source,” Tourism Minister Lisa Beare told me.
The cost of a backup power supply — be it gas-powered generators or a separate B.C. Hydro line — was listed as “unknown” in the assessment.
Then there were the security costs, notorious for going over-budget. A prime example: Security for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver was originally budgeted at $175 million and ended up costing over $1 billion.
“That was a huge concern for us,” Beare said. “We couldn’t get any firm requirements or cost estimates.”
Stoking the fears of the government was the 2014 World Cup experience of Brazil, which spent over $900 million on security, including a massive video-surveillance system and training on potential chemical and radiological terror attacks.
Keep in mind Vancouver was only in line to get two or three soccer games as part of a unified bid to host the World Cup by Canada, the United States and Mexico.
But, even though the number of games was small, FIFA still demanded “exclusive use” of B.C. Place for up to two months, requiring all other events to be cancelled or postponed.
During the “exclusive use period,” FIFA insisted on a “clean stadium clause” banning all non-authorized advertising and commercial activity — and not just within the confines of B.C. Place itself.
The ban included “prohibition of any promotional, public-relations, religious, political or commercial advertising of any kind in, on, above, around or about the stadium without prior written approval by FIFA,” the assessment said.
“When they were using words like ‘around’ and ‘about’ the stadium, we sought clarity on that and the bid committee could not provide it,” Beare said.
“It would have made us responsible for activities that happened outside the stadium,” she added, saying the government was concerned about policing the activities of businesses near B.C. Place.
If you’re wondering whether all these costs would have been offset by a share of World Cup ticket sales or TV rights — forget it.
“An exceptionally broad and almost universal ownership of commercial rights with respect to the competition” would remain exclusively with FIFA, the assessment said, including “media rights, marketing rights and ticketing.”
As B.C. taxpayers absorbed all the costs — and FIFA scooped all the World Cup profits — FIFA also demanded special treatment under B.C. taxation and labour laws.
“The FIFA World Cup represents an event of national importance and public interest, which justifies the granting of a tax exemption,” said a FIFA document entitled “Overview of Government Guarantees.”
The tax exemption would also apply to FIFA service providers, contractors “and certain designated individuals.” The same document also required the government to grant FIFA “exemption from labour law” and allow “unrestricted import and export of all foreign currencies.”
As if that’s not enough, FIFA also wanted the right to change the terms of the agreement after it was signed, with any cost increases borne by taxpayers.
In response to all these contract demands and uncosted liabilities, the B.C. government sent a letter to the three-country Unified Bid Committee.
The letter said B.C. would support the bid on three conditions: Production of a detailed business plan showing all projected costs, federal-government responsibility for security and an indemnity to protect B.C. taxpayers from any cost overruns.
The conditions were not met, and Vancouver was dropped as a potential host city.
“We would have loved to have hosted these World Cup games and we tried hard to make it happen,” Beare said. “But we were unable to get the security we needed for taxpayers.”
The opposition Liberals slammed the governing NDP for failing to deliver.
“The government pulled the rug out from under soccer fans and the tourism industry,” said Liberal MLA Jas Johal.
But others applauded the B.C. government — and the cities of Chicago, Phoenix and Minneapolis, which also rejected the contract demands — for standing up to FIFA.
“It’s a wise decision,” said Andrew Jennings, the British reporter credited with exposing FIFA corruption that led to U.S. charges of wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering in 2015. “More and more governments are saying ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ to FIFA. The era of the shakedown is over.”
msmyth@postmedia.com
twitter.com/MikeSmythNews
When I heard the Gov't had withdrawn Vancouver as part of the North American bid, I thought, hmm typical making Vancouver the epitome of a "No Fun Zone" in North America.
Then I started to look at possible reasons why BC would not want to support a bid including BC Place for 2 or 3 games. Mexico would host a few games and the majority would be played in the USA. Pretty expensive when you break it down for three games. Most likely they would not include any premium top 8 teams either.
FIFA has been the subject of corruption over the past decade and they still are able to bully their way into a deal with countries that want to host the World Cup. This time BC has said, "thanks but no thanks" to FIFA.
In the end, this all may be a moot point as the Islamic countries are supposedly going to vote as a block against any games being played in the USA in retaliation to the #45's xenophobic stance towards Islam.
Mike Smyth from the Province details how the bid was sidetracked by FIFA because of all their conditions.
- Two Grass Fields at BC Place. One to be installed ASAP as required
- BC Place is not to be used by any other event for two months while the World Cup is played.
- No promotional material "around BC Place" TBD
- Two Sources of power at BC Place. Cost of second source paid for by BC.
- The gate goes to FIFA. Not Negotiable.
- All costs for security are the responsibility of the host not FIFA
- Special Tax Free Status for FIFA. No taxes for Vancouver, BC or Canada.
http://theprovince.com/opinion/columnists/mike-smyth-no-soccer-for-you-inside-the-governments-fight-with-fifa
Here is the complete article from the Province.
Columnist Mike Smyth writes about the B.C. government's challenge to FIFA that caused Vancouver to be dropped as a potential World Cup host city.
The opportunity to host World Cup soccer games was a dream scenario for Vancouver fans who hoped “the beautiful game” would visit our beautiful city in 2026.
But when B.C. Place officials sat down to analyze the contract terms demanded by FIFA — the corruption-plagued world governing body for soccer — the dream turned into a financial nightmare.
Now I can tell you some inside details of the proposed deal, which unravelled last week after the B.C. government demanded clarity on costs and renegotiation of key points.
B.C. Place is owned by the provincial government and managed by the B.C. Pavilion Corp., a Crown agency known as Pavco.
A “risk analysis” document prepared by Pavco officials outlined an astonishing series of non-negotiable contract terms from FIFA that would have burned taxpayers to a crisp.
They included a requirement that B.C. Place install not just one temporary natural-grass playing surface on top of the stadium’s existing artificial turf (installed just three years ago at a cost of $1.3 million).
The contract demanded a second “contingency pitch” just in case something went wrong with the first grass field and a new one had to be installed on short notice.
FIFA not only demanded two grass fields for B.C. Place, they also demanded two electricity supplies to the stadium in case of a power failure.
A “second separate source of power supply for the stadium” would be “entirely and wholly the responsibility of the stadium and host city,” the risk assessment said.
“Pavco flagged that for us right at the beginning — they have a single power source,” Tourism Minister Lisa Beare told me.
The cost of a backup power supply — be it gas-powered generators or a separate B.C. Hydro line — was listed as “unknown” in the assessment.
Then there were the security costs, notorious for going over-budget. A prime example: Security for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver was originally budgeted at $175 million and ended up costing over $1 billion.
“That was a huge concern for us,” Beare said. “We couldn’t get any firm requirements or cost estimates.”
Stoking the fears of the government was the 2014 World Cup experience of Brazil, which spent over $900 million on security, including a massive video-surveillance system and training on potential chemical and radiological terror attacks.
Keep in mind Vancouver was only in line to get two or three soccer games as part of a unified bid to host the World Cup by Canada, the United States and Mexico.
But, even though the number of games was small, FIFA still demanded “exclusive use” of B.C. Place for up to two months, requiring all other events to be cancelled or postponed.
During the “exclusive use period,” FIFA insisted on a “clean stadium clause” banning all non-authorized advertising and commercial activity — and not just within the confines of B.C. Place itself.
The ban included “prohibition of any promotional, public-relations, religious, political or commercial advertising of any kind in, on, above, around or about the stadium without prior written approval by FIFA,” the assessment said.
“When they were using words like ‘around’ and ‘about’ the stadium, we sought clarity on that and the bid committee could not provide it,” Beare said.
“It would have made us responsible for activities that happened outside the stadium,” she added, saying the government was concerned about policing the activities of businesses near B.C. Place.
If you’re wondering whether all these costs would have been offset by a share of World Cup ticket sales or TV rights — forget it.
“An exceptionally broad and almost universal ownership of commercial rights with respect to the competition” would remain exclusively with FIFA, the assessment said, including “media rights, marketing rights and ticketing.”
As B.C. taxpayers absorbed all the costs — and FIFA scooped all the World Cup profits — FIFA also demanded special treatment under B.C. taxation and labour laws.
“The FIFA World Cup represents an event of national importance and public interest, which justifies the granting of a tax exemption,” said a FIFA document entitled “Overview of Government Guarantees.”
The tax exemption would also apply to FIFA service providers, contractors “and certain designated individuals.” The same document also required the government to grant FIFA “exemption from labour law” and allow “unrestricted import and export of all foreign currencies.”
As if that’s not enough, FIFA also wanted the right to change the terms of the agreement after it was signed, with any cost increases borne by taxpayers.
In response to all these contract demands and uncosted liabilities, the B.C. government sent a letter to the three-country Unified Bid Committee.
The letter said B.C. would support the bid on three conditions: Production of a detailed business plan showing all projected costs, federal-government responsibility for security and an indemnity to protect B.C. taxpayers from any cost overruns.
The conditions were not met, and Vancouver was dropped as a potential host city.
“We would have loved to have hosted these World Cup games and we tried hard to make it happen,” Beare said. “But we were unable to get the security we needed for taxpayers.”
The opposition Liberals slammed the governing NDP for failing to deliver.
“The government pulled the rug out from under soccer fans and the tourism industry,” said Liberal MLA Jas Johal.
But others applauded the B.C. government — and the cities of Chicago, Phoenix and Minneapolis, which also rejected the contract demands — for standing up to FIFA.
“It’s a wise decision,” said Andrew Jennings, the British reporter credited with exposing FIFA corruption that led to U.S. charges of wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering in 2015. “More and more governments are saying ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ to FIFA. The era of the shakedown is over.”
msmyth@postmedia.com
twitter.com/MikeSmythNews
