B.C. is right to turn down FIFA’s sucker deal

Only an organization like FIFA would expect a provincial government to sign a contract that FIFA’s bosses could change later.

But that’s exactly what the corruption-plagued world governing body for soccer wanted British Columbia to do as the price for Vancouver hosting three (or less) World Cup games, says Tourism Minister Lisa Beare.

“It could have been three games — possibly fewer,” Beare told me Wednesday, shortly after B.C.’s bid to be part of the 2026 World Cup was rejected by the bid committee.

The committee is making a “unified” pitch to FIFA for Canada, the United States and Mexico to co-host the famous tournament.

But the lack of clarity on exactly how many games Vancouver would get was just one of the many gaping holes in the proposed deal, Beare said.

“The most troubling aspect was the ability for FIFA to unilaterally change the stadium agreement at any point,” she said.

“We were not willing to put B.C. taxpayers on the hook for unknown costs.”

The stadium in question is B.C. Place, owned by the provincial government. Beare said the proposed deal would allow FIFA to demand changes to the agreement after the province had committed to paying for increased costs.

That exposed the province to a long list of unbudgeted liabilities, including the costs of a massive security commitment, parking requirements around the stadium and even changes to the stadium structure itself, including the installation of a natural grass field.

Wait a minute. Didn’t Vancouver just co-host a highly successful women’s World Cup tournament played on B.C. Place’s existing artificial turf?

The government spent $1.3 million to install the new artificial field just three years ago. But what’s good enough for the women isn’t good enough for the men, so a natural grass field is demanded.

Installation of a permanent grass field would require an expensive new drainage system in B.C. Place, already ruled out as too expensive and unworkable for a multi-use stadium.

So B.C. could potentially be stuck with the cost of a temporary grass field for two or three soccer games.

And by the way: B.C. happily signed on for the Women’s World Cup knowing the Canadian Soccer Association had indemnified the province against unbudgeted costs.

That’s completely different for the men’s tournament, in which the province was asked to assume all the risk, Beare said.

The insanity didn’t stop there. The proposed stadium agreement also obliged the government to clear the B.C. Place schedule for nearly two months or longer.

The text of the agreement reads: “Access to B.C. Place without any restrictions to be provided during the ‘exclusive use period,’ which is the period from at least 30 days before the opening match of the competition until 7 days after the last match at B.C. Place.”

The World Cup lasts for an entire month, so FIFA was demanding “exclusive access” when other stadium events would be cancelled or re-scheduled, exposing B.C. taxpayers to additional costs.

So what was the final bill for Vancouver to get two or three soccer games? It was impossible to tell, Beare said, and she quite rightly refused to sign a blank cheque for FIFA.

That didn’t stop the opposition Liberals from arguing B.C. should have signed it anyway.

I asked Liberal critic Jas Johal how much this would have cost B.C. taxpayers.

“I don’t have those numbers,” he said.

I asked him how much a Liberal government would be willing to pay. “I don’t have that number,” he said. And here I thought the Liberals were supposed to be the smart money managers.

This was a sucker deal. Beare and the NDP did the right thing by rejecting it.