MLS Giants Unveil Bold Stadium Vision While Fighting for Their Future
Following their historic qualification for their inaugural MLS Cup, Vancouver Whitecaps FC have additional cause for celebration as initiatives to prevent the club from relocating are beginning to materialize.
In partnership with the City of Vancouver, the Whitecaps revealed they had executed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a one-year exclusive negotiation period to investigate a new stadium and entertainment complex at Hastings Park, located on the city's periphery.
This represents a meaningful, though modest advancement toward resolving the Whitecaps' venue challenges, which, if unaddressed, would likely force the 52-year-old organization to depart Canada's West Coast.
Prior to the club's defeat against Inter Miami in MLS Cup, which Vancouver mayor Ken Sim attended alongside supporters, MLS Commissioner Don Garber discussed the club's requirement for a new venue, indicating that "difficult choices" might emerge if the "unsustainable" lease arrangement at their current home, BC Place, persisted.
What's Wrong with the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place?
The Whitecaps' lease agreement at BC Place concludes at the end of 2025 and requires renegotiation for 2026 and potentially further years.
The organization leases BC Place from PAVCO, a Crown Corporation functioning independently from the British Columbia Provincial Government, and receives minimal benefits from match-day revenues at substantially lower rates than other MLS franchises.
Any new venue would require a minimum of three years from announcement. The expectation remains that the Whitecaps could continue competing at BC Place during that period. However, the club still requires a new, restructured lease for 2026 and beyond and continues negotiations about enhancing its agreement.
"The City of Vancouver, we've fulfilled our obligations. We've been absolutely clear that we'll do everything feasible to ensure that the Whitecaps maintain a future in the City of Vancouver... It's likely going to require four-plus years. And so, where do the Whitecaps compete during that period? It should be at BC Place," Sim stated.
"When you examine the financial aspects of BC Place... We're requesting the provincial government to take action, finalize an agreement with the Vancouver Whitecaps and consider the long-term perspective... the financial model simply doesn't function."
The 54,000-capacity facility that will accommodate World Cup matches sits in the center of Downtown Vancouver, while Hastings Park lacks rapid transit access and sits on the city's outskirts, adjacent to the Pacific Coliseum, where the Professional Women's Hockey League's Vancouver Goldeneyes recently relocated.
Hastings Park hosted horse racing for more than a century, but announced it would cease operations on Friday, the day before MLS Cup. The Whitecaps' previous venue, Empire Field, was formerly situated near Hastings Park.
Are the Whitecaps Still for Sale?
Axel Schuster, the Whitecaps' sporting director and CEO, and Sim both verified that the Whitecaps continue to be available for purchase. The club was originally listed by current ownership on Dec. 13, 2024.
The collaboration with the city on a stadium initiative and potential partnership with the local Indigenous Nation, the Tsleil-Waututh, and other stakeholders, represents an attempt to retain the club in the city.
"There are potential buyers who would like to acquire the Whitecaps and there are some potential buyers who want to relocate the Whitecaps away from the City of Vancouver," Sim stated. "If there's no possibility to have your own venue... there is no feasible alternative for anyone who wants to maintain the Whitecaps in the City of Vancouver.
"Let's simply state it plainly: There's likely absolutely no pathway for the Vancouver Whitecaps to stay in Vancouver without this MOU."
Whitecaps Would Not Own New Stadium's Property
Any new venue would include a surrounding entertainment complex and be constructed on the PWHL and the PNE Amphitheater site, which will accommodate the 2026 FIFA World Cup FanFest.
Nevertheless, the property on which it is constructed at Hastings Park would not be owned by the Whitecaps. Instead, it would remain municipal property and be leased to the MLS franchise at "a reasonable market value lease while ensuring no excessive financial burden to the taxpayer," according to Sim.
According to a Sports Illustrated examination of the complete published MOU, the lease would be a 99-year lease of the location with the club taking control no sooner than Dec. 31, 2026.
How Big Would a New Whitecaps Stadium Be?
The Whitecaps did not specify the capacity of the stadium they would contemplate, but most new MLS venues, including Inter Miami's Miami Freedom Park, scheduled to open in 2026, accommodate between 20,000 to 30,000 spectators.
Schuster verified that the Whitecaps would also incorporate the local professional women's team, the Vancouver Rise, in the proposals, considering that the two teams share common ownership. Other potential collaborators, such as the Canadian Football League's BC Lions, who also compete at BC Place, remained unspecified.
"It's truly up to the Whitecaps and if they have future collaborators to develop a proposal that makes sense," Sim stated. "And then they'll present that to council and there'll be numerous opportunities to proceed through a public hearing and ensure it functions in the context of our city and the region."
Cost and Timeline
No definitive timeline was provided and questions persist about who will fund the construction of the potential stadium and the entertainment complex. BC Place utilized taxpayer funding for construction, but Sim indicated that is not an option at a municipal level.
"It's truly up to the Whitecaps and their collaborators to develop a proposal and finance that proposal," he stated.
Schuster added that the team is entering the MOU with the recognition that the need to establish the foundation extends not only to current ownership, who could remain in some capacity, but also to potential new owners seeking to maintain the club in the city.
"If a new investor enters and a potential new purchaser who wants to retain the club here... they obviously examine the structure of the club," he stated. "We are working on right now to establish a better structure for the club that provides us the foundation and the setup that can maintain the club here in Vancouver and can make it successful."
The Whitecaps are scheduled to begin the 2026 MLS season on Feb. 21 against Real Salt Lake, with the match planned for BC Place.