EDMONTON—After a majority of Calgarians voted against bidding to host the 2026 Olympics, a similar concern has risen in Edmonton over a bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Tuesday night, unofficial Elections Calgary results showed a majority of 56.4 per cent cast their votes against continuing with a bid for the 2026 Winter Games, while 43.6 per cent voted in favour.

Edmonton is part of the United bid put forward by Canada, Mexico and the United States to host the 2026 World Cup, which was selected by the Olympic committee in June. After seeing the majority of Calgary voters reject a popular global event, councillors are wondering if the appetite for such events is fading.

“I think the public has become more skeptical of high-profile, supposedly high-status events and what they do for the host community,” said Councillor Scott McKeen.

“I think skepticism is warranted. Calgary’s vote reflects that level of skepticism around these major events.”

McKeen says he is concerned about the level of demands FIFA makes in terms of changes to stadium infrastructure and the exact financial outcome of events.

“I really dislike the idea of somebody coming in, putting on an event and leaving town with a lot of the money … It’s backed largely by public funds and then somebody makes a pile of money, but not the public,” he said.

On June 11, Brian Soebbing, assistant professor of sport management at the University of Alberta, told StarMetro that there is “little to no economic impact” of hosting the World Cup.

“There’s certainly not as much as what you would see in the post-event or pre-event reports they come out with,” he said.

FIFA often puts out an economic impact report after a World Cup event, but the reports are meant to make them look good, said Soebbing.

“The numbers that are seen are grossly overstated,” he said.

Councillor Michael Walters is more hopeful about Edmonton hosting since he says the city won’t be the only one footing the costs.

“That is much less expensive and our participation in it is united with many, many other cities, so I think there is a clear line for legacy for us,” he said. “We are talking three or four matches. Certainly we have to be very mindful of what it’s going to cost us and exactly what we are going to be asked to do.”

Walters said he was happy to hear about Calgary voting no on the Olympic bid because that means more provincial and federal tax dollars for Edmonton.

“I was worried that would affect the infrastructure dollars that other cities, like Edmonton, would receive,” he said.

Although councillors have some concerns regarding cost, people in the soccer industry believe it will be worth the money.

Antony Bent, general manager of the Edmonton Soccer Dome, says the FIFA event would attract people from all over the world and would benefit the city’s hospitality industry.

“World Cup is a more global event than the Winter Olympics,” he said. “If the city gets a big game like Argentina versus England, then the city would be absolutely packed. Every hotel will be sold (out). People will be (putting) houses on Airbnb, and every business, everyone, is going to benefit from it.”

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Bent added that the World Cup would leave a better legacy than an Olympic event would.

“(There will be) upgrades on existing facilities within the city, so that will be a legacy attached,” he said.

With files from Madeline Smith and Kieran Leavitt

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