Weeks of international soccer madness across Canada will come to a climax Sunday as Team U.S.A. and Team Japan duke it out at B.C. Place in the FIFA Womens World Cup final.
But whoever lifts the trophy, it appears its Vancouvers tourism industry, residents and soccer-hungry visitors who have been the true winners.
Among those working hardest in the final hours leading up to Sundays game, which kicks off at 4 p.m., is Kingsley Bailey of local ticket reseller Vancouver Tickets.
Bailey said despite Team Canadas absence from the final, prices and the demand remained high for the remaining seats, with tickets priced between $400 to $1,500 a pop through his resale service.
Tickets on StubHub were also available for the final as of Saturday, with upper end line tickets beginning at $250 and lower sideline tickets in the $2,000-$5,000 range.
Were fielding calls from all over, said Bailey, who has been taking calls mostly from American fans.
He had even planned to make a quick jaunt south of the border to stock up on U.S. flags to distribute to customers purchasing tickets.
They want to be here. They are soccer aficionados and they want to see the soccer, he said.
Bailey said Sundays matchup is a particularly hot ticket due to the massive markets and fan base behind each team.
Ty Speer, president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver, noted Vancouver has a long history of great tourism support from both the U.S. and Japan, making Sundays game a more than ideal scenario for the local economy.
I suppose with the very small exception of the home team being in the final, its probably as good of a storyline as we couldve got, Speer said.
While a Team Canada final may have brought in a bigger domestic audience, Speer said the continued demand for hotels, tickets and other attractions shows people still want to come to Vancouver, including Canadians who are just happy to be part of the experience.
Its a special place to visit, whether youre coming from inside of Canada or outside of Canada.
Tourism Vancouver hadnt yet compiled numbers for June and July, but Speer said there had been a consistent boost to business on top of the usual summer traffic all through the last month-and-a-half due to Vancouver being a Womens World Cup host city.
Theres no question that our hotels have had extraordinary high occupancy, he said.
All of the indicators are that June and leading into July are showing that the destinations been doing extremely well and businesses are benefiting right across the spectrum.
In addition to those in town to cheer on their team, the World Cup has also brought a number of visiting media, team and tournament staff to the city.
David Neal, an executive producer of Womens World Cup coverage for Fox Sports, said he and his team would be sad to see the channels broadcast centre being dismantled at Jack Poole Plaza at the conclusion of the tournament.
Neal, who had previously worked in Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympics, called the last month in Vancouver working on the World Cup the most enjoyable professional experience of his career.
Just this morning, a number of colleagues and I talked about the fact that were melancholy about the end of the event, Neal said Friday.
We recognize that its usually not this great: this great of a location, this wonderful of people weve had here. Weve truly felt like we were welcomed guests here.
Were all looking forward to going home, of course, but this has been a very fond place to come to work everyday for a month.
Neal is likely not the only one who has fallen in love with Vancouver while in town for the World Cup.
Lindsay Meredith, a marketing strategist and macroeconomics professor at SFU, said the FIFA Womens World Cup has done a more effective job than the Olympics of marketing the city to tourists.
Arguably, we got good bang for our buck, he said, noting the World Cup cost less to organize and host, but still brought a comparable boost to the local economy.
In addition to the dollars going into local businesses the city had expected a $36.7 million boost Meredith also suggested the Womens World Cup may have better social benefits.
Its one thing to show a bunch of hockey players, who are male, and soccer players, who are male, beating around the bush but hey, females constitute half the population. Why the hell are we not promoting a lot more of that sporting venue?
Thats whats going to get young girls out there, emulating these players, he said.
