Prince George City Council has decided to wait for more information before making a decision on hosting watch parties for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
At Wednesday’s meeting, City Council discussed a notice of motion put forward by Councillors Ron Polillo and Cori Ramsay, directing staff to work with a few local organizations to plan and execute outdoor watch parties to be held at Canada Games Plaza.
“This is about generating, we hope, some economic activity in the downtown core, and in particular that area around Canada Games Plaza,” Polillo said.
“We think will be a boost to businesses in that area as well too, and activating the Canada Game Plaza, which is a strategic priority for this Council.”
Polillo recognized hosting the parties would cost some money, but there’s potential for partnerships and sponsorships.
He added Council wasn’t making a decision then, but was asking staff to come up with some rough costs on what the event could look like.
Councillor Cori Ramsay noted there will be workshops on applying to host watch parties at the Union of BC Municipalities convention, taking place in Victoria this week.
“I know there’s going to be some staff time required for this, but it looks like UBCM is doing a lot of that work in advance to try and make it as easy as possible,” she said.
She added an application would have to go to FIFA in Q4 2025.
Councillor Brian Skakun said this event could be used to score political points ahead of next year’s municipal elections.
“Council would be able to take credit for this a couple of months before the election,” Skakun said.
“I don’t think we should be doing anything, especially next year, whoever’s running, putting on an event where your name is going to be tagged to that event. That’s just the way it goes.”
Skakun said there’s plenty of work ahead of Council on other issues, including public safety.
Councillor Kyle Sampson disagreed, saying Councillors shouldn’t be changing how they do things based on elections.
“I think that it would be inappropriate for any Council to change how they make decisions based on an election, if it’s good for the community, it’s good for the community,” he said.
However, Sampson added this is something that could be done through the private sector instead.
“I’m not sure if I think the City’s involvement should be to this degree, but if a proposal was to come forward from outside of us, to be hosting this type of event, and the City could maybe be a supporter, I would be more in favour of that,” Sampson said.
Ramsay put forward an amendment to have staff return a report on the information sessions from the UBCM convention.
“What I’m really curious about, is if the City can apply and then sub-lease those rights to non-profits so they’re not having to do all of the work,” she said.
Mayor Simon Yu said he was weary of hosting the party, saying this could set a precedent.
“It’s not because of political, it’s because today’s FIFA, next year’s Olympics, next Winter Olympics, it becomes perhaps too often,” he said.
Council ultimately voted in favor of Ramsay’s motion that called for a report from the information sessions.
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