On a Friday where the Vancouver Whitecaps signed two new players and re-signed another, somehow, those moves were a secondary story to the main event of the day.
As the Whitecaps continue their pre-season in Spain, and the start of competitive matches is just a couple of weeks away, an email hit the inbox announcing that Axel Schuster would be available to media at UBC later in the day. While the Whitecaps are generally quite good to work with and decently forthcoming with information, this struck me as a bit odd. Usually, the sporting director and CEO would not be made available in person on such short notice. I was immediately suspicious.
Shortly thereafter, a redditor shared a letter Schuster sent to season ticket holders. The letter detailed what the club had been doing in the off-season and excitement for the season ahead, but more importantly, it included a rather concerning update that negotiations with BC Place had stalled, and that some cup matches for the upcoming season would have to be played at other venues. Ah, there was the reason for the press conference on short notice. My suspicions were validated.
As someone who’s covered the team for a long time, the update included in the letter was concerning, but not exactly inconsistent with how things have generally gone with BC Place. They are a Crown corporation, and as such, they can be pretty inflexible and bureaucratic to deal with. Not exactly ideal for the ever-evolving world of professional sports. Many of us remember a Wizards and Warlocks convention creating a scheduling conflict. Fun times.
It was only when we heard from Axel Schuster at his media availability that things really started to change. For the first time, rather than being mostly positive or evasive, Schuster sounded rather despondent and resigned. You can go watch the whole availability on YouTube if you haven’t already and make your own judgment, but for me, this was a dramatic shift from anything we have heard since the moment the club was initially listed for sale.
Schuster put things quite bluntly. While 30+ ownership groups have expressed interest in purchasing the club, not one of them is interested in buying the team until the stadium situation is resolved. Equally, Schuster was not optimistic that a temporary stadium solution, or a vastly improved deal with BC Place, is a legitimate option on the table.
Ever since the club was initially placed for sale, I’ve downplayed the idea of the team leaving this market. For me, it made no sense to worry about hypotheticals with no real evidence, and I felt like feeding into relocation hysteria based on past trauma in this city was misguided. I still remain committed to that view, but I’ll be honest, Friday was the first day my confidence in that approach was shaken. The realities have not changed, but the growing lack of options and flexibility make it feel like the walls are closing in on this club.
All of this stands as a very odd juxtaposition with the club’s current outlook on the sporting side of things. 2025 was Vancouver’s best-ever MLS season. The club made two major finals, brought in an all-time great, and fan support around the city has never felt stronger. 2026 is another chance for this team to battle for silverware as one of the top sides in North America. This should be the height of excitement surrounding the game in this city, and the start of Vancouver ascending to become a premier MLS franchise.
Yet, it feels like it’s possible this could all be gone as soon as 2027. Vancouver is a soccer city, and the Whitecaps belong in this market, but we all know that sometimes that’s not enough. Stadium deals, currency exchange rates, and dubious foreign ownership groups are all among the soulless factors that can stand in the way of what the game is really about.
I still have a lot of hope and belief in this club and this city, not just for the season ahead, but also for the long-term future here. It’s time to get serious about finding a solution.
(Image: Beau Chevalier/Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
as i previously stated, there was no need to panic and talk like the sky was falling- the Caps WILL STAY in Vancouver and in MLS
the Provincial government is agreeing to turn over food and drink revenues at BC Place Stadium to the Caps – details coming
is this breaking news for real? … from co24 bc whitecaps
BC Government Whitecaps Stadium Deal Secures Future in Vancouver
Olivia Carter
Last updated: February 3, 2026 7:25 PM EST
By
Olivia Carter
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In a landmark agreement announced yesterday, the British Columbia government has committed $135 million toward a new home for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, effectively ending months of speculation about the team’s future in the city. The provincial investment, which Premier David Eby described as “pivotal for the future of soccer in our province,” represents a significant victory for sports enthusiasts and economic stakeholders alike.
The funding package comes after intense negotiations between provincial officials, team ownership, and the city of Vancouver. The deal will transform the existing BC Place Stadium into a more soccer-centric venue while maintaining its versatility for other events. Whitecaps owner Greg Kerfoot expressed his relief at the agreement, stating, “This partnership ensures our club remains rooted in Vancouver for generations to come.”
According to economic impact assessments conducted by the province, the renovated stadium is projected to generate over $250 million in annual economic activity and create approximately 1,200 jobs during construction. Sports economist Dr. Tanya Morrison of Simon Fraser University notes that “beyond direct financial returns, these investments often catalyze neighborhood revitalization and civic pride that extend well beyond match days.”
The announcement has not been without its critics, however. Several community advocacy groups have questioned the prioritization of sports infrastructure over pressing social needs. “While we recognize the cultural significance of the Whitecaps, we must ask whether this represents the best use of public funds when affordable housing remains scarce,” said Michael Chen, director of the Urban Solutions Coalition.
The Whitecaps organization has responded by highlighting their community initiatives, including youth development programs that serve over 5,000 children annually across British Columbia. The team has also committed to allocating 15% of stadium events for community use and establishing a foundation that will direct $2 million annually toward grassroots soccer programs in underserved communities.
Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2025, with completion targeted for the 2027 Major League Soccer season. The renovations will reduce seating capacity from 54,000 to a more intimate 32,000, while improving acoustics and sight lines specifically for soccer matches. Advanced sustainability features will make it one of North America’s most environmentally conscious sports venues.
For Vancouver’s dedicated soccer fans, the announcement represents a significant relief after years of uncertainty. Sandra Williams, president of the Southsiders supporters group, described the emotional impact: “This isn’t just about a building—it’s about preserving a cultural institution that brings together people from all backgrounds under one roof.”
As cities across North America compete to attract and retain professional sports franchises, this investment raises important questions about the evolving relationship between governments, sports teams, and communities. Will the economic and cultural benefits of this partnership truly justify the substantial public investment, or will other pressing social priorities suffer as a consequence?
This story is fake – can’t find it anywhere online. There is no deal in place.
I KNOW NOW IT IS FALSE. /good plan though
why still up after 24 hours
https://co24.ca/bc-whitecaps-stadium-deal/
…………think Whitecaps should buy BC Place!
you might be right- it is an option for the Province and the Whitecaps – at the very least, the Caps will get more involvement in BC Place Stadium organization IMO– and naming rights will be done with the Caps receiving some of the money, like $2-3 mill IMO
Salty
Sadly I think you are dead wrong. Based on Axel Schusters comments today – I don’t see this as an impasse in negotiations much as well intentioned groups trying to solve terminal, structural problems with an MLS team in a small market Canadian city. Assuming Schuster was being honest, there is a $40 deficit between what mid tier MLS teams pull in versus what we pull in. The teams revenues are in CAD yet we pay out in USD. You add in the facts that it’s nearly impossible to build anything in Vancouver, there is little tax payer appetite to in any way look like we are funding a billionaires toy, and Vancouver’s billionaire either actually don’t live or spend anytime here or are totally disinterested in investing….it adds up to a team leaving.
wont be leaving
Salty
Whitecaps must start marketing for sure!
They need to sell as many season tickets as possible 25,000 /30,000?
…….and I think the circus this week has actually lost them fans …Axel Shuster is a clown!…..Ownership hauled him back from the edge today!
i found this on the Daily Hive from December, 2025
dailyhive.com/vancouver/hastings-racecourse-hastings-park-transformation-possibility
also the City has begun to demolish the horse track, including the stables and parking area – what do you think its for ??
the City-Province-Whitecap plan is progressing quickly- the critical date is december, 2026 where the Memorandum of Understanding between the City and the Caps will come to a decision about the Caps move to a SSS at the Hastings Park relocation- that result will open the door for new investors being disclosed
thanks to owner, Greg Kerfoot, and CEO, Axel Schuster for driving this forward
Salty
Th answer to this saga is simple: the original Waterfront Stadium should be green lit. That area of town will finally get a purpose and it could be major catalyst to cleaning up the neighborhood. Anyone who thinks this is about gentrification of the area is not worth listening to. No one is asking for a Gucci on every street corner. As far as building over tracks – this is a non-starter as well. If MSG can be built over Penn Station, a waterfront stadium over some tracks is doable. After this is done, BC Place should be sold to the Feds to become a national stadium – that’s an option. Or just tear the damn thing down and build something useful. Taylor Swift, the Olympics and the WC don’t come to town often enough for such a white whale in the middle of downtown – I can’t quite believe we can’t host motocross and the odd home show elsewhere. The Lions can move to Surrey, where 90% of their fans are located anyhow.
Yeah but Penn Station doesn’t have hazardous goods travelling through it, just passengers coming and going. That’s why the waterfront option had to be abandoned. Too bad as it would have been spectacular.
PRIORITY!… find 8,000 to 10,000 more fans and sell at least 25,000 / 30, 000 season tickets for 2026 ….and get moving on stadium plans!
{Asking your landlord to reduce your rent is seldom successful}
well-written
its part of the negotiating sporting business world to whip up the media and supporters in order to put pressure on the governing officials- the BC Place deal will get done until 2030 and with a better deal for the Club- with the amazing interest in the Whitecaps, the City and Province want the Club to stay and prosper
actually i am optomistic- 2 years ago, it would have been a MEAH of the Caps leaving- the SSS/Entertainment Hub at Hastings Park will get done- its just too good a vision for the City and the Park not to get a lease contract signed by the end of 2026- the new investors will join in (even the Waututh First Nations are playing with the idea of becoming a Club investor)-
there are just so many reasons and connecting information for the Caps to have a permanent home at Hastings Park- and i believe it will happen
Salty
I totally agree with your POV. Add into the mix the “leaked’ documents showing that PavCo get 80% of the profits compared to the Whitecaps 20%, they are clearly letting us know who is the good guy and who is the bad guy in these negotiations. Add into that as well that the budget is coming up on the 17th.
PavCo willing to operate ‘at net zero’ to keep Whitecaps at BC Place: Minister
British Columbia’s minister of economic growth says the latest offer to keep the Vancouver Whitecaps playing at B.C. Place Stadium would see the Crown corporation that owns and operates the facility “operating at net zero.
Canadian Press
7 minutes ago
4 minutes ago
SO BIG GOVERNMENT CAME THROUGH!……..THANKS I GUESS
The B.C. government is working on a deal to keep the Vancouver Whitecaps in the city.
The Whitecaps have been clear that without a dedicated stadium, they are not confident that they can stay in the city without help from the province.
Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s minister of jobs and economic growth, confirmed to Global News that BC Place, which is operated by PavCo, will now give the Whitecaps back all the profits they make from the games, which will amount to about $1.5 million.
COULD WHITECAPS AND NEW INVESTOR NOT BUY BC PLACE? /many covered stadiums have grass!
I don’t know what kind of public numbers are available but I would be very curious to find out more details about the different teams revenues in comparison to their stadium debt… I know it was mentioned that the Whitecaps have one of the lowest revenues in the league, and that’s seen as a bad thing, but I don’t know if it’s necessarily an indication of how profitable they are…
You could be earning 3x the revenue but if you’re paying back most of that as debt on a $500million stadium then you’re not really coming out ahead in the end…
Of course the MLS wants to have their teams own their own stadiums because it increases the teams’ valuations and as long as some billionaire owner pays for it, or they convince some taxpayers to pay for it then of course they’re happy… But having to pay for a $500million+ stadium isn’t really a guaranteed path to profitability if you ask me, even if it would be nice as a supporter, especially when there is a decent alternative available…
Pretty well every team in the MLS is a money pit. If you add up every teams net income the league operates at a loss. Why would there be 30+ groups interested in investing hundreds of millions for negative returns. Let them buy the team and move the team. The whitecap owners are ludicrous if they think a smaller stadium outside the core will earn them more revenue.
The Whitecaps like many businesses think their rent is too high…..so get 10,000 more customers!…..Work at it and the fans shall come!… ask the fans to help and they shall / beg for a break from your landlord {crown corp}……and you may find fans not so keen to help!
I hope I’m misinterpreting something but I’m not a fan of the statement “The club made two major finals” as that is a slap in the face of the Voyageurs Cup/Canadian Championship, our country’s domestic cup competition!
Obviously the Can Champ is an important tournament, but I don’t think MLS clubs view making the final as a major accomplishment, even though our friends out East have struggled with that in recent years.
The Canadian championship is NOT a major final. It may not be the joke it once was but …
Have we considered the possibility that Axel’s pessimism is about something deeper and more fundamental? If Canada is decoupling from the US, and if the US has an unclear, unstable, and possibly authoritarian future, how would being part of a league mainly operated out of white-nationalist, hostile territory tenable? I hope that we are not naive enough to think that Trump is a but a bump on the highway to progressive America… Might it be necessary to make plans for a more robust CPL, develop the sport nationally. We’re 4 times the size of Belgium or Greece and significantly richer, we should be able to build it up. I would hate to lose the whitecaps, they have been integral to my Vancouver/Canadian journey, but we are facing, to use Carney’s much vaunted words, a rupture.
Next to yourself?
why is that everything negative in your world comes down to blaming Donald Trump? in many ways, the economy under Trump is progressing upward- cant say the same thing with Eby and Carney- lets stick to the Whitecaps and soccer news
In what world is the american economoy progressing upwards? Are cankles your kink, fella?
Yes, it’s getting to the point with this crappy league that I couldn’t care less if they move out of town, only to be resurrected as a CPL team.
BC TAXPAYERS DO NOT LIKE TO SEE THE BEGGING BOWL OUT!
if the fans want to keep the club here? then they have to be the one’s who finance the shortfall ….HOW?………….
10 ,000 more paying customers and problem resolved! …there shall be financial / taxpayer’s money coming to help build a new stadium {Vancouver / B C GOV.} But to ask all taxpayers to subsidies the present business model is a ludicrous .
THE CLUB IS PRIVATELY OWNED BY MILLIONAIRES AND PAY THEIR PLAYERS / MANAGEMENT A LOT MORE THAN THE AVERAGE TAXPAYERS SHALL EVER EARN…..
SO COME ON FANS TIME TO STEP UP….TIME FOR THE CLUB TO PUT AWAY THE BEGGING BOWL AND GET THEIR MARKETING GUYS OF THEIR A—– {FANS WHO HAVE NOT BOUGHT SEASON TICKETS IN THE PAST SHOULD CONSIDER TICKET SHARING? ETC ETC
SURELY ALL FANS CAN BRING AT LEAST ONE NEW FAN ? OR 3? 4?
Bar none, you are the most insufferable commenter on this site
keep whiticaps invancouver
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=vancouver+whitecaps+Schuster+ON+GLOBEL+TV+YOU+TUBE&qs=n&sp=-1&ghc=1&lq=0&pq=vancouver+whitecaps+schuster+on+globel+tv+you+tube&sc=8-50&sk=&cvid=A23040EFD4784EAB821BCCC4EAB626C9&ajaxnorecss=1&sid=0D635CC07994652024094A32783C6443&jsoncbid=0&ajaxsydconv=1&ru=%2fsearch%3fq%3dvancouver%2520whitecaps%2520Schuster%2520ON%2520GLOBEL%2520TV%2520YOU%2520TUBE%2
Schuster put things quite bluntly. While 30+ ownership groups have expressed interest in purchasing the club, not one of them is interested in buying the team until the stadium situation is resolved.