Toronto’s top civil servant is promising the cost of putting on the 2026 FIFA World Cup won’t rise again, as the city prepares to host six massive soccer fixtures at the beginning of the summer.
Five group stage matches featuring the likes of Germany, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, as well as a Round of 32 knock-out, are scheduled to take place at a renovated version of Toronto’s BMO Field in June and July.
Since Toronto first signed up to host games under former mayor John Tory, the cost has consistently risen.
The price tag after the games were confirmed in Toronto was $290 million, quickly rising to $300 million. By early 2024, after Toronto was handed a sixth fixture, the cost for the games was revised upwards again, this time to $380 million.
During the launch of Toronto’s annual budget process, City Manager Paul Johnson said the cost hadn’t gone up since then — and promised it wouldn’t rise again above the $380 million figure.
“It’s been more than a year now since it changed, so that’s what we’re at … The $380 (million) is what the mayor has asked us to keep to, and so far, so good,” he said.
“We’re remaining true to that $380 million and looking forward to a tremendous game in less than six months now.”
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The total number is being split between Toronto and both the provincial and federal governments. Queen’s Park has offered to pitch a strict $97 million, while the federal government is covering $104 million. The remaining $179 will be covered by the City of Toronto.
Johnson said the highest cost would be close to $170 million in capital costs to rebuild parts of BMO Field and to renovate Centennial Park, which will be used as a training base. The six matches will be another major driver.
“The six World Cup watches in Toronto do have a cost on a game-by-game basis, which is significant,” he said. “Each one of these is kind of like a Super Bowl experience on the day, with the level of fan operations that need to go in, getting spectators in, the security and all the other transportation pieces.”
Toronto’s staff have hinted that the cost of the games will be difficult to bear. A staff report from May 2025 said much of the money offered by other levels of government was already needed for other, indirect costs.
The report said a substantial amount of the money Ontario promised to the city will be eaten up by existing commitments.
A total of $15 million alone will go toward public health, increased hospital staffing, paramedics and preparing for surging demand on hospitals as thousands of fans descend on the city. Almost $40 million of the $97 million was already assigned and won’t go to the overall cost, the report said.
There may be other pressures on the city when June rolls around.
Johnson said the city won’t break out the extra costs of a swell in visitors to the city, hoping cancellation of non-World Cup events will offset some of the strain.
“Obviously, hosting games like this, the amount of people who will be there, there will be pressure, even things like litter pickup,” he said.
“There’s probably going to have to be extra things like that. A full costing of that is hard to fully understand. The other side, though, is that there’s also a trade-off. During that period, we will have less other events happening in the city.”
The first World Cup game in Toronto will be held on June 12, 2026.
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