Canada’s World Cup games are over. What’s left behind?

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The final whistle has blown on the World Cup in Canada, ending the country’s month-long role as co-host of the largest tournament in FIFA’s history and beginning the task of measuring its economic impact, legacy and ultimate cost.

On Tuesday, boisterous crowds of Colombia and Switzerland supporters coloured the streets in yellow and red, marching en masse into a sold-out BC Place stadium for the 13th and final match in Canada. Despite a hard loss for the majority Colombia fans, they later spilled outside into the downtown core, revelling into the night as hundreds of thousands have over the past four weeks in both Vancouver and Toronto, the two Canadian host cities.

Yet despite weeks of packed bars and restaurants, fears of widespread hotel-room shortages and boisterous fan marches snaking through city streets, early data suggest that the marquee soccer tournament has not amounted to a major economic boost.

Data from the digital payment processing giant Moneris, which handles one in three transactions in Canada, show that, from June 12 to 26, total spending at Toronto bars and restaurants was up just 3 per cent over the same period last year. Spending by international visitors, however – measured using foreign-issued credit and debit cards – at those same bars and restaurants was up 34 per cent. Total spending at Vancouver restaurants and bars, and total foreign spending, each increased by 6 per cent.

The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, which is responsible for the city’s popular five-block Granville Street pedestrian zone, is preparing a report on the tournament’s economic impact. Some members have reported record sales; however, others have seen less business than usual.

Meanwhile, data from the U.S.-based commercial real estate data and analytics firm CoStar show that while hotels in both cities saw lower occupancy during World Cup match days compared with last year, they still posted revenue gains because guests paid sharply higher rates.

On Toronto’s first match day, June 12, the revenue generated per available room climbed 36 per cent compared with last year, despite occupancy falling 8 per cent. On Vancouver’s first match day, June 13, revenue per available room rose 31 per cent despite occupancy falling 15 per cent, according to the CoStar data.

The gains were driven by steep price increases; average daily rates were up 48 per cent in Toronto and 53 per cent in Vancouver on those days, the CoStar data show. Subsequent match days saw smaller gains.

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The Greater Toronto Hotel Association said hotel occupancy for the week ending June 20 was at 72 per cent – down from 88 per cent in the same week last year. The BC Hotel Association, meanwhile, doesn’t yet have complete booking data but said in May that occupancy rates for June were on pace to be down 15 per cent in downtown Vancouver and down 9 per cent across the city and Lower Mainland.

Victor Matheson, a sports economist at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., said that while international tourist volumes were up, the World Cup appears to have kept many other visitors away from the two Canadian host cities.

“This is not a surprise at all,” he said in an interview. “This is exactly what economists expected: that there would be basically displacement, and that the World Cup tourists would crowd out the regular tourists who would normally be in Toronto and Vancouver.”

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It’s too early to assess the full impact of hosting the World Cup, he said, adding it’s possible there could be long-term tourism benefits. But those effects are far from guaranteed and need to be weighed against the $1.1-billion Canada spent to host – roughly $380-million in Toronto and $700-million in Vancouver. That’s far more than its U.S. counterparts, the economist said.

“We told people, ‘Look, this is not going to be a gigantic economic windfall, and so be very careful about how much you spend if you’re going to host,’” Prof. Matheson said. “But even in the American cities, I’m not expecting a gigantic economic benefit big enough to cover the hosting costs.”

A recent Globe and Mail analysis explained that FIFA captures the majority of World Cup revenue while governments assume most of the cost and practical risk. For the 2026 tournament, projected revenues run above $13-billion.

FIFA and Deloitte Canada have claimed the World Cup would contribute a lofty $3.8-billion in economic output to Canada.

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While neither Toronto nor Vancouver built new metro lines or airport terminals for the World Cup like Mexico did, some modest legacy projects will remain from the tournament.

That includes mini soccer pitches in both cities. Toronto’s city-funded Soccer for All Legacy Program will build small-scale facilities in underserved neighbourhoods as part of a legacy campaign that will also fund up to a year of free youth soccer and leadership programming across the Greater Toronto Area.

In B.C., a partnership between the province, viaSport and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC will see up to 20 mini pitches built across the province.

Upgrades to the broadcast, player and hospitality facilities at both BC Place and Toronto’s BMO Field will also stay in place, although 17,000 temporary seats installed at the Toronto stadium for the World Cup will be removed. BMO Field is also getting a permanent, 1,000-capacity rooftop patio thanks to the World Cup.

About $146-million was spent on BMO Field’s upgrades, and up to $185-million on BC Place’s.

The training sites used by international squads in both cities will be converted for use by local youth leagues, summer camps and community programming. In Toronto, the Centennial Park training site will be used as part of Canada Soccer’s long-term High-Performance Plan. Vancouver’s Killarney Park, upgraded with a FIFA-grade grass pitch, floodlights and drainage systems, will be opened to community sport leagues.

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