Is hosting the FIFA World Cup in Vancouver worth the cost?

With costs for the global event on the rise, the province is facing plenty of criticism over how it’s handled its FIFA spending.

Some are debating whether hosting the World Cup in Vancouver is worth the cost as the province’s spending estimate climbed to as much as $729 million Friday.

Critics say the rising price tag raises serious questions about priorities, especially as the province faces other financial pressures.

Carson Binda with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation argues the cost per match is significant.

“When you do the math it works out to well over a million dollars per minute of play time. Now this is coming at a time when government is hiking taxes, racking up billions of dollars worth of debt and cutting core services for British Columbians,” said Binda.

The province says much of the spending will be offset through the hotel tax, federal funding and event-related revenues — leaving taxpayers on the hook for about $100 million.

But Binda takes issue with how those net costs are being calculated, noting federal contributions are being counted as revenue.

“They’re including contributions from other levels of government through those revenue projections. That means your federal income tax is going towards paying those games,” he told CTV News.

B.C. Conservatives finance critic and leadership candidate Peter Milobar says the current estimate may not reflect the full picture.

“We’ve already far exceeded what the previous estimates on the high end of those estimates were, which would lead me to believe that we still have a lot of unaccounted for costs still to come,” he said.

Milobar also questioned how the numbers were presented publicly, noting that Premier David Eby did not attend Friday’s news conference.

“I don’t think even the premier’s office truly believes this number or he would’ve been championing them and he would’ve done it much sooner than he has,” he said.

Economists are also expressing caution about where the final number may land.

Moshe Lander, a sports economist at Concordia University, says the full cost likely won’t be known until after the tournament.

“The numbers are going to still go higher because the last of the bills have yet to come in, where we’re going to see the full cost when we get to the fall,” said Lander.

Jarrett Vaughan, an adjunct professor at UBC’s Sauder School of Business, echoes that uncertainty.

“The provincial government seems to have very little ability to actually predict cost. Even until after the games are finished, I don’t think we’ll really have a clear picture (what it) really is going to cost the taxpayers,” said Vaughan.

Supporters of the event point to the global exposure and economic boost major tournaments can bring, including increased tourism and business activity tied to hosting international matches.

B.C.’s restaurant industry is gearing up for a surge of business.

“We do anticipate, certainly within the Metro Vancouver area, a real uptick in business,” said Ian Tostensen, President of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association.

Tostenson says many restaurants are staffing for a 30 to 50 per cent increase during the tournament.

Vancouver is set to host seven matches, with the first game at BC Place scheduled for June 13.