Item - 2025.MM35.36

Councillor Mike Colle, seconded by Councillor Michael Thompson, recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the Executive Director FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Secretariat to purchase the full allotment of 3,546 tickets that the City of Toronto has the opportunity to purchase with the primary purpose of revenue generation toward the hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Toronto.

2. City Council authorize the Executive Director FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Secretariat to conduct a sweepstakes or other prize draw providing Ontario residents the opportunity to win a total of 52 tickets to FIFA World Cup 2026 matches to be held in Toronto and authorize the Executive Director FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Secretariat to determine the appropriate contest rules for such prize, including eligibility requirements, in accordance with any legal requirements for such prize.

3. City Council authorize the  Executive Director FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Secretariat and Chief Procurement Officer to award, negotiate and execute a non-competitive agreement, in accordance with City of Toronto  Municipal Chapter 195 (195-7.1 (P),  to deliver the sweepstakes and manage all associated components and processes, in an amount not to exceed the amount identified in Confidential Attachment 1 to this Motion Without Notice by Deputy Mayor Mike Colle, on terms and conditions satisfactory to the  Executive Director FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Secretariat, and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

4. City Council authorize the Executive Director FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Secretariat to purchase additional hospitality assets, for the purpose of expanding the Host City Commercial Hospitality Program as a key revenue generation strategy for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto.

5. City Council direct that Confidential Attachment 1 remain confidential at this time as Confidential Attachment 1 includes details to be applied to negotiations to be carried on by or on behalf of the City of Toronto.

6. City Council authorize the public release of Confidential Attachment 1 at the discretion of the Executive Director FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Secretariat following the conclusion of the sweepstakes in quarter 2 of 2026.

As a Host City for the FIFA World Cup 2026, the City of Toronto has the opportunity to purchase a ticket allocation of 1.5 percent of the stadium capacity. For Toronto, this results in 591 tickets per match for a total of 3,546 tickets across the 6 matches to be held in Toronto. To date, 1,594 (approximately 45 percent) of these tickets have been allocated to and/or included in Host City Commercial Hospitality Program as a key revenue generating strategy for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto. The cost for these tickets is accounted for as a commercial sales expense and paid from revenue generated from sales/donations. Use of the remaining 1,952 (3,546 less 1,594) tickets is to be determined by the City, with the primary use to be expansion of the commercial sales program, representing a significant revenue generating opportunity for the City.

Additionally, as other Host Cities such as Vancouver have done, the City of Toronto can generate revenue and provide access to fans by conducting a sweepstakes. The sweepstakes would be run as a promotional contest, in accordance with legal requirements, would offer Ontario residents the ability to pay a nominal fee for a chance to access tickets to a FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto match, with winners picked at random.

In March 2025, City Council authorized the purchase of $10.7 million for the Host City Commercial Hospitality Program, as a strategy to generate revenue for the hosting of FIFA World Cup 2026. Representing an expansion of this strategy, the City has the opportunity to purchase additional hospitality assets which would be bundled with existing hospitality assets and used to generate commercial revenue.

Revenue generated through the above initiatives will be used to support the Soccer for All Legacy Program (mini-pitches, soccer hub at Centennial Park and free programming) as well as other legacy initiatives.

The purchase of tickets and hospitality assets will have no impact on the $380.0 million overall budget for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Detailed financial information around the cost of purchasing the Host City tickets, procuring a vendor to deliver the sweepstakes, and purchase of the additional hospitality assets is included in Confidential Attachment 1. The reason this information is confidential is because the details are to be applied to negotiations to be carried out by or on behalf of the City of Toronto.

Reason for Urgency:

The sweepstakes must be in market by March 3, 2026 – to maximize revenue generation potential, launching the sweepstakes as soon as possible would be in the City's financial interest.

Confirmation of the intent to purchase the City’s allocated tickets needs to be provided to FIFA by January 22, 2026. Given the next session of City Council is on February 4, 2026, the December session of City Council represents the only opportunity to proceed.