Potential $30 million budget increase for new PNE Amphitheatre

Potential $30 million budget increase to build new PNE Amphitheatre in time for 2026 FIFA World Cup

May 2024 artistic rendering of the new PNE Amphitheatre. (Revery Architecture/PNE)

The project to build the brand-new landmark PNE Amphitheatre is facing some cost pressures, especially due to the recently established crucial deadline of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The City of Vancouver and the PNE have eyed a new amphitheatre since the 2010 creation of the long-term PNE/Hastings Park master plan of improving the entertainment and green spaces of fairgrounds.

Detailed planning for the amphitheatre project began long before the pandemic and the decision to rejoin the race to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as first reported by Daily Hive Urbanized in 2019.

Then, in June 2021, Vancouver City Council approved the project and preliminary cost estimate of about $70 million, based on a completion by 2026. Almost exactly a year later in June 2022, FIFA named Vancouver as one of the 16 host cities of the 2026 tournament.

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The 2026 FIFA World Cup influences the project as the municipal government has decided to use the PNE fairgrounds for Vancouver’s official 2026 FIFA World Cup Fan Festival. This festival, which will last five weeks throughout the tournament, is part of a longstanding tradition requiring each host city to stage a major fan event, allowing both residents and visitors to enjoy the festivities.

The decision to hold the fan festival at the PNE fairgrounds — formally announced in June 2024 — is partly due to crowd control, security, and spatial constraints in downtown Vancouver, as well as the opportunity to showcase the new landmark amphitheatre that was already planned. Similarly, in Spring 2024, the City briefly considered hosting the Vancouver Canucks’ Stanley Cup playoffs viewing events at the PNE for up to 6,000 people. For the Canadian Olympic Committee’s potential Vancouver 2030 Winter Olympics bid, the amphitheatre was proposed as the venue for the nightly medals ceremonies, with the larger fairgrounds area serving as the fan festival site.

Pre-2019 highly preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of the new PNE Amphitheatre. (PNE)

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May 2024 detailed artistic rendering of the new PNE Amphitheatre. (Revery Architecture/PNE)

In April 2023, the PNE revealed the detailed design by Revery Architecture for the new amphitheatre — a venue visually defined by its striking landmark mass-timber roof, with a capacity for up to about 10,000 spectators, backdropped by the North Shore mountains.

In July 2023, City Council provided the project with the final green light and a revised budget of about $104 million, which includes $21 million in enhanced design components that would generate additional revenue, including a larger back of house to support bigger and more complex productions, additional VIP suites, and three permanent concession facilities including a full production kitchen. There would also be 25 more washroom units to help support the venue’s maximum spectator capacity, as well as a sound-containing wall to help address the concerns of neighbourhood residents. The revised budget at this juncture also accounted for the steep inflationary trend seen globally since March 2022.

The new amphitheatre is being built on the site of the dilapidated 1960s-built temporary amphitheatre, which was demolished in early 2024. Construction is now well underway, with crews currently focused on excavation and preparing the foundations.

Last week, as part of City Council’s capital plan mid-term update, a budget increase of up to $30 million was approved for the amphitheatre project. This grows the project’s cost from $107.5 million to up to $137.5 million, which includes supporting site infrastructure and utility costs.

This follows City staff’s recommendation in late June 2024 when the update to the capital plan was first contemplated. At the time, City staff indicated that the $30 million increase would be treated as a contingency fund “due to fast-track delivery and off-set negative market conditions including escalation.” Currently, they are looking to work within the $107.5 million budget, but in case there is a cost increase, the contingency fund will be used.

Simply put, up to an additional $30 million has now been set aside for any potential extra costs if there is a need to speed up construction work to ensure the amphitheatre is built in time for the FIFA Fan Festival, which will begin on June 11, 2026 and close on July 19, 2026.

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Artistic rendering of the new PNE Amphitheatre. (Revery Architecture/PNE)

May 2024 artistic rendering of the new PNE Amphitheatre. (Revery Architecture/PNE)

As of late June 2024, according to City staff, there has been a “substantial amount of progress,” and 46% of the project’s tendering has been well within the budget.

“This project is a significant investment for the City, and the renewal will support more access to music, culture, festivals and multi-functional outdoor space,” the City told Daily Hive Urbanized last week upon inquiry.

“Hastings Park was recently announced as the location of the FIFA Fan Festival Vancouver, which serves as an example of the many functions this investment will support. To prepare for this event, the City has made significant progress on the schedule of the Amphitheatre, and we are excited to be able to host the FIFA Fan Fest in the Summer of 2026. This schedule also meets the needs of the PNE.”

According to the municipal government’s procurement files for an event organizer, preliminary estimates indicate an average of 15,000 people may attend the FIFA World Cup Fan Festival at the PNE on a daily basis. This includes live screenings of the matches, and a wide range of entertainment, activations, and other programming, similar to Live City Yaletown and Live City Downtown during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

In May 2024, the PNE announced Freedom Mobile will be the venue’s naming rights sponsor for a 10-year term starting in 2026. Freedom Mobile was selected following a bidding process that attracted significant interest. The value of the deal was not disclosed, but the proceeds will go towards covering the new venue’s costs.

The finalized name of the venue carrying the name of the company is expected to be announced later this year, following a public voting period this past spring.

May 2024 artistic rendering of the new PNE Amphitheatre. (PNE)

PNE is pursuing the new amphitheatre as a long-term revenue-generator. Due to its very poor condition, the previous temporary amphitheatre averaged just five events annually outside of the PNE Fair period. In contrast, the new amphitheatre with its protective weather covering and modern purpose-built facilities and amenities is expected to host 78 shows annually by its fifth year of operations, including 48 commercial and corporate events and 30 community events.

Furthermore, this is the PNE fairgrounds’ first new permanent major entertainment venue since the construction of the Pacific Coliseum in 1968.

In the late 1990s, a very substantial portion of the PNE’s revenue-generating facilities were demolished by the municipal government to make way for green space, a skateboard park, and the large Sanctuary pond. This reduced about 200,000 sq ft of indoor event space, including the demolition of the BC Pavilion, Pure Foods Building, Showmart, and Poultry Building.

Additionally, the earlier demolition of the 33,000-seat Empire Stadium in 1993 further reduced the PNE’s available venues for programming. It has since been converted into a sports field.

Rio de Janeiro’s FIFA Fan Festival during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. (A.RICARDO/Shutterstock)

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2022 FIFA World Cup Fan Festival in Doha, Qatar. (FIFA)

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