Turkey and Australia face off in Vancouver's first World Cup match
The city hosts its first-ever World Cup game tonight with 35,000 Turkish fans expected and major road closures in effect around BC Place.
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Vancouver hosts its first-ever FIFA World Cup match tonight as Turkey takes on Australia, with organizers and fans preparing for an influx of supporters and significant city disruptions.
Ramazan Kilic, a Turkish soccer fan from Richmond, B.C., said he will experience goosebumps when Turkey's national anthem plays through BC Place Stadium. Kilic watched Turkey play Canada in a friendly in Toronto in June 1995, but tonight's match carries different weight — it's the World Cup. He's bringing his wife, two children, brother, sister, and brother-in-law, along with thousands of other Turkish fans who have travelled to Vancouver from across Canada and around the world.
Kilic's family has been preparing since the morning, listening to music and dancing before heading to the stadium. The family will travel by SkyTrain from Richmond and meet up with an expected 2,000 fans in a local park before heading to the match.
Kilic estimates some 35,000 Turkish fans could show up for the game. He bought four tickets for $5,000 but says he has no regrets, even though identical seats are now selling for $500–$600 each. "I said, 'You know what? It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We will just go to game.' My kids love soccer. So, I said, 'why not?'"
The city's infrastructure is being tested for the first time. Doors open three hours before the 9 p.m. kickoff, with fans directed to arrive via walking routes from Main Street Science World SkyTrain Station and downtown along Keefer Street. Major road closures are in effect around the stadium, and organizers are urging fans to leave cars at home and use public transit.
The city has seen an influx of Australian fans in green and gold. Turkey's enthusiastic supporters greeted their team's arrival Thursday by setting off red smoke canisters outside the players' hotel.
Fans without tickets can head to the official FIFA Fan Festival at Hastings Park in East Vancouver or the newly pedestrianized Granville Street fan zone in the downtown core.