FIFA U-20 World Cup Expected To Provide Economic Kick

With record attendance spread over six cities, the FIFA Under-20 World Cup will “easily surpass" C$166M in economic impact in Canada, according to Anne Howland of the EDMONTON JOURNAL.  An economic assessment of the event conducted by Deloitte & Touche in ’05 showed about $105M linked to construction of Toronto’s BMO Stadium, $18M for staging the event and $45M in “associated spending.”  Edmonton Economic Development President & CEO Ron Gilbertson said that there are “no hard numbers available just yet.”  Howland notes the event set the record for the highest cumulative attendance in FIFA U-20 World Cup history and was “the largest single-sport event in Canada.”  FIFA officials estimated that the tournament drew nearly 1.2 million fans for 52 matches.  Local organizer Peter Montopoli said that the “popularity of the event has exceeded his wildest dreams, almost double original national ticket sale estimates.”  Montopoli: “The FIFA people are blown away by the success" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 7/24).