Local bars enjoying a bump in business thanks to the World Cup

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – With the World Cup underway in Russia, bars and restaurants here are hoping to cash in on soccer fans looking to catch their team compete against the best.

Don’t expect to find many fans showing up for the games at 3 a.m. or 5 a.m. thanks to the time difference with Russia.

However, local bars and restaurants are hopeful they’ll be filled to the brim for the late games starting at 11 a.m. or noon.

“We’re getting into the better weather. I think people go, ‘You know what? I’m going to take the afternoon off and watch this or take an extended lunch.’ Absolutely for sure. It is the World Cup. It’s not just a game. It’s pretty exciting. So, we’re going to see people working around their flexible schedules or making their schedules flexible so they can go out and see it. It should be a lot of fun,” says Ian Tostenson with the BC Restaurant & Food Services Association.

“The daytime games are more preferable. You get the lunchtime crowd and they’ll stay and they might just stay after the game and celebrate, have a beer, maybe a few appetizers so I think you’re better off to capture those games midday and extend into the rest of the day. This looks favourable. This looks really good,” adds Tostenson.


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The tournament wraps up in mid-July.

Last week, it was announced a joint North American bid to host the 2026 World Cup was awarded to Canada, the US and Mexico. The games will be played in Toronto, Montreal and Edmonton in this country, however, there were mixed feelings in BC after the NDP government withdrew Vancouver from the initial push to host.

Premier John Horgan had said his government wasn’t comfortable signing what he described as a “blank cheque” to FIFA during the bid process.

The next World Cup is set to be held in Qatar in 2022.

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