MLS boss Garber says Vancouver Whitecaps can’t grow without a better stadium deal

By Canadian Press on November 4, 2025.

VANCOUVER — The head of Major League Soccer has long believed Vancouver has what it takes to be a premier soccer market.

Now, as the Vancouver Whitecaps reach new highs on the field, league commissioner Don Garber is coming to the city to lobby for change.

“My trip isn’t just to celebrate all the great things that have been going on over the years,” he said in a phone interview. “It’s to help make sure that success is sustainable long term.”

Garber will be speaking with business leaders and public officials during the trip, and high on his list of talking points will be the Whitecaps’ stadium deal.

The club currently plays its home games at B.C. Place, a 55,000-seat venue in Vancouver’s downtown core.

Opened in 1983, the stadium is owned by PavCo, a provincial Crown corporation that leases the venue to tenants including the Whitecaps and CFL’s B.C. Lions. It’s also set to host seven matches during the FIFA World Cup in June and July.

The venue is also used for non-sporting events, including concerts — it hosted the final three dates of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour last December — and trade shows.

Garber says the Whitecaps’ stadium deal “isn’t optimal” because of scheduling issues and the limited revenue the club receives from food and beverage sales.

“The club isn’t sustainable in a situation where they’re … in a building which they have no control over, they have minimal participation with revenue. The biggest issue is the lack of schedule flexibility,” he said.

Last year, the ‘Caps had to cede home-field advantage to the Portland Timbers for a playoff game because a motocross show was already booked in at B.C. Place for the same date.

B.C. Place said in a statement Tuesday that it makes “40-plus days available per year to the Whitecaps to host matches.”

Whitecaps CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster told reporters last month that, while the club is among the top-10 in MLS when it comes to attendance, because of their deal with B.C. Place, the ‘Caps linger at the bottom when it comes to food and beverage revenue

“Clubs that are having half of our attendance are making three times the revenue of us in this category,” he said.

The Whitecaps’ current lease with B.C. Place expires at the end of December.

B.C. Place said in its statement that it’s currently having “productive discussions” with the MLS club about renewing its lease.

“Any agreement has to be looked at in totality, factoring in not just revenue but also operational costs and capital investments,” it read.

It noted renovations are currently underway for new premium hospitality areas and said tenants will have more opportunities to generate revenue next season.

“Ultimately, it’s our goal to balance the right deal for both parties while ensuring fairness for British Columbians,” the statement said.

“As the proud home of Vancouver Whitecaps FC, B.C. Place has supported the club’s journey in Major League Soccer for the past 14 years and has hosted its matches for over four decades. The stadium remains committed to supporting the club’s growth and success now and into the future.”

The Whitecaps also announced in April that it had started discussions with the City of Vancouver about building a new soccer-specific stadium at the PNE fairgrounds on the city’s eastern edge

The discussions began after the club’s ownership group — made up of Greg Kerfoot, Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett and former NBA star Steve Nash — announced in December it was putting the club up for sale.

Schuster said last month that the current owners are still looking for an option that will keep the Whitecaps in Vancouver, and that could include bringing in new investors.

Stadium troubles are nothing new for MLS clubs, Garber said.

“This team is no different than any other professional sports team,” he said. “Having the ability to capitalize on all aspects of what a stadium could deliver — both for fans, for corporate partners, for hospitality value and also for schedule flexibility — is something that we hope to be able to make some progress on. I know it’s a challenge, but we’ve had challenges in every market.”

The commissioner sees his role in the talks as sitting down with community and government leaders to explain what kind of value teams provide and talk about how the league is a good partner.

“If we’re able to have a very thoughtful and open discussion, I’m hopeful we’ll be able to reach a resolution, whatever that resolution might be,” he said.

Despite the business dealings, the Whitecaps remain healthy, Garber said.

“Look at their fan base, look at how they’re performing on the field,” he said. “But you need to have an integrated connection between what happens on the field and what happens off the field.”

The ‘Caps finished the regular season second in the Western Conference with an 18-7-9 record, then dispatched FC Dallas in a first-round playoff series.

Vancouver will host Los Angeles FC in the Western semifinal on Nov. 22. More than 23,000 tickets for the game were sold before LAFC — and South Korean star Son Heung-min — were confirmed as the opponents, and the team is now expecting more than 40,000 fans to fill the stands.

Adding German soccer legend Thomas Muller to the roster in mid-August was a major coup for the ‘Caps.

The 36-year-old attacking midfielder contributed seven goals and three assists over seven regular-season appearances, added another goal in the team’s first playoff game, then scored in a penalty shootout in the second to help the club advance.

Muller is a “true champion” who uplifts not only the team but Vancouver as a whole, Garber said.

“There were a number of MLS teams that were chasing after Thomas Muller,” he said. “And he picked Vancouver because he saw the potential, and really saw that this team could — with his influence — expand their global presence and their global exposure. And undoubtedly, he’s been able to do that in a really short period of time.

“He is a winner, and I’m so excited to have him in the league.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2025.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press