Re-mortgage your home to get a FIFA World Cup ticket in Vancouver: reseller

If you’re hoping to take in the ‘beautiful game’ next summer at BC Place, expect to pay a lot of money.

Prices for FIFA World Cup tickets in Vancouver are through the roof and expected to continue rising in the weeks and months ahead.

“You’ve got to put your house up for an auction. Either auction your house or just get it refinanced for mortgaging, because this is it. This is the game of games,” Vancouver Ticket reseller Kingsley Bailey told 1130 NewsRadio.

He says sharing hosting duties with two other countries — the U.S. and Mexico — is actually driving prices up.

“It’s making it more difficult because three countries are vying for it, and they’re willing to pay more money to be able to get the games, and I can understand why because this is the number-one sport in the world.”

“Either auction your house or just get it refinanced for mortgaging because this is it.”

Bailey says the pricing he has seen so far is “wild.”

“Around $35,000 for seven games, and that was all games in a hospitality suite for Vancouver, so… the two knock-outs, the two Canada games and the three other games that are played as well, and if you look at it now, it’s going nothing but up.”

Fifteen years ago, all eyes were on the Vancouver region for the 2010 Winter Olympics, but even adjusted for inflation, Bailey says ticket prices don’t compare to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“The prices weren’t even close. Not at all,” said Bailey. “I think since 2010 we’ve had [the] COVID[-19 pandemic], we’ve had fans who’ve been stuck in the house who have wanted to go out and are just desperate for any kind of entertainment, and they were willing to pay for it. We see the mindset now is, ‘I want to go and I’m going to pay, and I’ll have to pay for it later on when I have money.’”

If you want to be in the stadium, he suggests saving up and tempering your expectations.

“Be realistic. You’re not going to see a Canada game because, most likely, that’s going to be one of the higher numbers, especially in this part of the country. But it doesn’t matter what game you go see, every game is going to be good.”

He thinks prices for Canada and Mexico may also be impacted by fears about the political climate in the U.S. and the possibility of being detained.

Vancouver will host two of Canada’s group games, among the total of seven matches, next June.

The 26th-ranked Canadian men’s team will open the tournament on June 12 at Toronto’s BMO Field before shifting to Vancouver for its remaining group games on June 18 and 24. Should Canada win its group, it would stay in Vancouver for the round-of-32 game and, if it wins that, the team would stay put for the round-of-16 contest.