The biggest women’s sports event in the world is coming to BC Place stadium on July 5, 2015.
FIFA's executive committee this morning named Vancouver host city of the 2015 Women’s World Cup final. The match will cap a 24-nation, 52-game tournament that kicks off June 6 in Edmonton.
Vancouver will host five first-round matches, two in the round of 16 and one quarterfinal. Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton are also host cities. Tickets go on sale in the third quarter of 2014.
The B.C. government budgeted $2 million for the bid. Small Business minister Naomi Yamamoto could not say whether more taxpayers funds were earmarked or under consideration.
Neither sport minister Bill Bennett nor Premier Christy Clark attended the Vancouver news conference announcing the win. Clark is currently election-campaigning in the Okanagan.
A simultaneous Edmonton news conference was attended by Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel and Alberta tourism minister Richard Starke.
The final will be the biggest single sporting event in Vancouver since the 2010 Olympics men’s gold medal hockey game and is likely to have a big impact on downtown businesses.
According to FIFA TV estimates, 62.8 million viewers watched the 2011 final between Japan and USA.
