How much do premium Toronto, Vancouver FIFA World Cup tickets cost right now? Here's what we know

Canadian soccer fans eager to score a ticket to one of the 13 FIFA World Cup games in Toronto or Vancouver next summer can now purchase hospitality packages.

But the premium tickets for the group stage and round of 32 matches, which start at $2,500 and increase significantly depending on the level of service selected, won’t get you in to see Canada’s Men’s National Team on the pitch at Toronto’s BMO Field or BC Place in Vancouver.

According to FIFA and On Location, its official hospitality partner, host nation games “are not available as a single-match offerings ” for the special tickets.

The Canadian side plays its first game at BMO on June 12 — the first-ever men’s World Cup on Canadian soil — and rounds out its group stage play with matches on June 18 and 24 in Vancouver. Opponents won’t be determined until later this year.

Here’s what you need to know about ticket prices less than a year before the event kicks off.

How much will a World Cup ticket in Toronto or Vancouver cost me right now?

To secure admission to one of the nine games not featuring Team Canada and for which the teams are yet to be determined, it will depend on when and where you want to watch.

After the Team Canada opener on June 12, Toronto will host five more matches — four group stage and one round of 32. Hospitality package tickets for group stage games on June 17 and 20 start at $2,500, contests on June 23 and 26 start at $2,600 and the round of 32 match on July 2 starts at $2,800.

“That’s steep. That is very steep. But I don’t have much control over it,” Toronto mayor Olivia Chow said this week, per City News.

Vancouver’s first game, on June 13, starts at $2,950 but drops to $2,575 for those on June 21 and 26. A round of 32 game on July 2, meanwhile, begins at $3,215.

Those prices allow ticketholders access to the FIFA pavilion, a private area offering food and drinks separate from other attendees. There are four other hospitality levels to choose from, each offering a slightly higher level of exclusivity — the champions club, the trophy lounge, VIP and the top tier pitchside lounge.

“An exclusive experience that blends luxurious comfort with the electrifying energy of the world’s greatest sporting event,” according to FIFA and On Location.

Selecting the “pitchside lounge standard plus” option for the June 17 game in Toronto, for example, jacks the single ticket price to $5,750. As of right now, Vancouver tops out at the “VIP standard plus” level, which will run you $6,450 for the round of 32 match.

All of the packages include all you can eat and drink, including alcoholic beverages, and they get you inside three hours before kickoff and allow you stick around for up to two hours after the game ends.

How can I guarantee tickets to see Team Canada play in the World Cup?

While a strong third-place finish could earn 28th-ranked Canada a berth in the round of 32 in this year’s expanded tournament, the side is guaranteed only three group stage games.

As of right now, tickets to those matches can only be secured by investing in the venue series, which grants the pass holder access to all the matches at either stadium, starting at $15,975 for Toronto and $19,860 in Vancouver.

Like the single-match offerings, that number can increase dramatically depending on the hospitality level above the FIFA pavilion.

A single venue series pass with access to the “pitchside lounge standard plus” for the six games in Toronto rings up for $37,700. In Vancouver, where the pass gets you into all seven games, it’s $46,740.

Another option is to sign up for Canada Soccer’s CanadaRED program , which offers registered members exclusive access to the organization’s ticketing allotment for the national team’s games. The higher your donation tier, the better your odds of scoring a chance to buy one of the tickets. Paying tiers range from $50 to $5,000 annually.

When can I get cheaper World Cup tickets to see Team Canada play?

FIFA also announced this week that it would open applications for general tickets on Sept. 10. Tickets are going to be released in five phases to accommodate the high demand.

However, the governing body did not specify when the draw would take place, nor whether it would employ dynamic pricing, as was the case for the Club World Cup, which saw ticket prices fluctuate wildly.

FIFA encourages fans to register their interest so they can “use their FIFA ID to apply for their first chance to buy tickets” in September.

Ticket sales will continue from then until the final match in East Rutherford, N.J., on July 19, but FIFA has yet to offer details on the timing of future phases.

As for how much they might cost, general tickets for fans at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar ranged from $11 for Qataris attending a group stage game all the way to $2,210 for international fans watching the final, according to The Sporting News.

How much are Canada’s World Cup games costing?

Toronto has ballparked its hosting cost at $380 million, $104 million of which was supplied by the federal government, with another $97 million coming from Doug Ford’s provincial government, a deal that’s still being negotiated.

A city staff report in late May revealed that “provincial service costs are still substantially higher than budgeted, and in some cases completely unbudgeted,” resulting in $39 million of the province’s contribution already earmarked for provincial service costs like added Ontario Provincial Police security and hospital and paramedic surge capacity.

Ford, who initially said the city wouldn’t get a penny more, has promised to work with Chow to come up with a solution.

“When I talked to the mayor and we were looking over the costs, the security is crazy,” he said last month, per CTV.

“She (Chow) needs more cash, which I understand. But we will review it, we will come up with a solution, and it will turn out well.”

The city is putting $123 million into BMO Field , increasing capacity to 45,000 with the addition of $17,000 temporary seats, along with other upgrades like four new LED videoboards and improved team facilities.

In Vancouver, the latest estimated gross core costs of planning, staging and hosting are between $532 million and $624 million.

Ottawa has committed $116 million and the high-end estimated cost for the province, by way of government and the B.C. Pavilion Crown Corporation (PavCo) is $279 million. The city’s portion could total as much as $345 million when third-party entities providing public services are factored in.

PavCo is putting between $171 and $181 million in B.C. Place, which includes a new natural grass playing surface, a FIFA requirement.

– With files from the Associated Press

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