Thousands of soccer fans take over Vancouver for the long weekend
Posted March 26, 2016 11:20 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Soccer has a foothold on the Vancouver market as a record crowd took in last night’s FIFA World Cup Qualifier at BC Place. While the results weren’t what Canadian fans wanted, it was a big win for tourism related business.
Thousands of fans flooded the city for the long weekend, a big boost to hotels and restaurants.
Walt Judas with the Tourism Industry Association of BC says it’s just the latest sign Vancouver has become a world-class sporting venue.
“We are capable of hosting much more as we demonstrated with the hugely successful Rugby Sevens. [Vancouver] earned the reputation of the tour spot of that series,” he explains. “People know us now; we have a reputation in this province and in Vancouver for being very capable of hosting international sporting events.”
He says Vancouver is hosting the Master Games competition later this summer, which will bring in even more sports tourists.
