Tens of thousands of British Columbia’s most treasured pieces of sports history will be packed away for the entire 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament.
The BC Sports Hall of Fame says it has been ordered to shut down for two months to make room for an international media centre, and it won’t be getting any compensation.
The hall is located in BC Place, where seven FIFA matches are set to be played.
The hall’s curator, Jason Beck, says all eight staff members — including himself — will be without income during the shutdown.
“A two-month closure with no revenue, at the height of tourism season. Ask any non-profit — that is really hard to overcome.”
Beck says it isn’t the first time they have had to close for an event. During the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Vancouver, the hall only closed on match days, and employees were compensated for lost hours. But this time is different.
He says it is FIFA calling the shots, not PavCo, the government agency that runs BC Place.
“FIFA was granted exclusive use of the stadium from May 14 to July 15, which includes the BC Sports Hall of Fame space, despite the fact we are a tenant in the building and pay rent,” Beck said.
“So we have been asked to remove any elements from the space that are mobile and a few items that are not like the front desk, climbing wall, etc.”
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Beck says he saw the closure coming, but says it is a “huge blow” and a lost opportunity.
“B.C. has such a rich soccer history. Our collection is incredible when it comes to soccer,” he said.
“So we would have been bringing that out, and that would have been on display. That would have been a way we could share our story of the game here in B.C. with visitors from all over, and we are not able to do that now.”
He also says many groups wanted to partner with the non-profit for exhibitions, which they now won’t be doing either.
While Beck says he’s still excited for FIFA to come to Vancouver, he points to other local events also being cancelled this year due to tournament planning, such as the Dragon Boat Festival, which normally takes place in June.
“To just do so at the expense of local organizations, businesses, and festivals, that’s not right,” he said.
“I don’t know how that was allowed to happen.”
The BC Sports Hall of Fame will remain open until May 15. Beck says he hopes the museum can reopen by Aug 1.
We reached out to FIFA for comment, but didn’t hear back by deadline.
— With files from Dean Recksiedler