Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow is defending the city’s decision to purchase and resell thousands of FIFA World Cup tickets, arguing the strategy will help offset hosting costs and spare taxpayers from footing the bill.
The city used its host-city privileges to purchase more than 3,500 World Cup tickets and then resell them to corporate sponsors and partners at a profit.
With only a handful of tickets remaining, the city says the plan appears to be paying off. However, the final revenue amount has not been released.
Speaking to CityNews, Chow rejected suggestions that the city was acting like a ticket scalper.
“Not one penny of the city hosting FIFA World Cup come from taxpayers. It’s from levying the hotel and these corporate sponsorship through the ticket sale so the taxpayers don’t have to pay a dime,” said Chow.
“We’re not doing it for greed. We’re doing it to save taxpayers dollar,” Chow said. “It was planned last year way before the provincial guidelines came in. And I spoke to the premier. He knows exactly what we’re doing.”
The mayor said the tickets were not resold on the open market to families or individual fans, but rather to major corporations and sponsors.
However, critics argue the city missed an opportunity to make World Cup matches more accessible for residents.
Councillor and mayoral candidate Brad Bradford pointed to examples in the United States where municipal leaders secured lower-cost tickets for local families.
“It’s disappointing on a number of fronts. We’ve seen mayors in US cities that have used their leverage to reduce costs of tickets. You saw the mayor in New York go out and secure tickets for $50 for families, for New Yorkers. And here in Toronto, Mayor Chow has taken the opposite approach. She sees it as a revenue stream to go out and jack ticket prices,” Bradford said.
Some soccer fans visiting city hall echoed those concerns, saying residents should have been given greater access to the tickets.
“The taxpayers have already paid for the tickets and the venues and all the other accompaniments and all this fanfest that they’re doing. So no, they shouldn’t they shouldn’t be reselling the tickets for a profit,” said one Toronto resident.
Another resident said the city should have prioritized opportunities for families to attend matches.
“I think it would be nice to give them an opportunity for kids or or families who don’t have the means on their own,” said another resident.
Chow says the city is also planning to use its corporate suite at Toronto Stadium to host community groups, so that residents can experience World Cup matches as part of the tournament festivities.
The FIFA World Cup comes to Toronto this week, with city officials continuing final preparations for the global sporting event.
