First Nation seeks to buy Hastings Racecourse & Casino business | Daily Hive

Hastings Racecourse & Casino at Hastings Park. (Kenneth Chan)

Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) is pursuing the acquisition of a longstanding revenue-generating asset rooted in Hastings Park in Vancouver.

On Friday, the First Nation announced it has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Great Canadian Gaming Corporation for an agreement in principle to acquire the “casino business and related real property interests” at Hastings Racecourse & Casino.

This appears to signal that Great Canadian does not intend to pursue a renewal of its lease to operate the racecourse and casino at the site. The company’s lease began in 2004 and is set to expire next year.

Upon inquiry, the City of Vancouver told Daily Hive Urbanized today that Great Canadian’s current operating agreement runs until May 2026, with an additional five-year renewal option subject to mutual consent.

“Great Canadian Gaming Corporation is the operator of Hastings Racecourse and the City cannot disclose specifics of operating agreements,” the City stated.

As the property is owned by the City, this could trigger potential lease negotiations between the municipal government and the First Nation regarding the site’s future use beyond May 2026.

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In a statement on Friday, Jen Thomas, Chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, made it clear that if the First Nation is able to obtain the site’s lease, they intend to continue the gaming uses.

“We are thrilled to take another important step towards economic self-determination for our Nation in our traditional territory, and we are eager to work with the senior management team at Great Canadian Entertainment to finalize due diligence and execute a definitive agreement, as well as working with the City of Vancouver to ensure the best long-term use of this important asset within the City,” said Thomas.

“We believe that this opportunity is historic for us in many ways, and we look forward to entering the gaming industry in due course.”

Aerial of Hastings Racecourse & Casion at Hastings Park in Vancouver. (Great Canadian Gaming Corporation)

Hastings Racecourse & Casino at Hastings Park. (Kenneth Chan)

It is further noted that the agreement between the First Nation and Great Canadian is subject to further due diligence, finalization of financial terms, and the execution of a definitive purchase and sale agreement. After a definitive agreement is executed, the lease sale is still subject to approvals by provincial gaming regulators and other entities, including the City.

Great Canadian will provide “transition services” to the First Nation for a period of time after the deal closes.

Regulations permit Hastings Racecourse at Hastings Park to have up to 600 slot machines, but zero table games. Currently, Hastings Racecourse has 446 slot machines on a 42,000 sq. ft. casino floor beneath the horse racing grandstands. Including the racecourse, horse barns, and the grandstand/casino structure, the entire property spans about 50 acres — roughly one-third of Hastings Park’s overall area.

Great Canadian added the casino to the racetrack as part of its 2008 renovations to the attraction. The area’s first horse racecourse dates back to 1889.

“We are excited about working with TWN on their potential acquisition of the casino operations and related real property interests at Hastings Racecourse & Casino,” said Matt Anfinson, CEO of Great Canadian Entertainment.

“Recognizing that Hastings is part of the TWN’s traditional territory, we can think of no better entity to inherit this asset, and we look forward to supporting them in the transition after the anticipated close of the sale.”

Hastings Racecourse & Casino at Hastings Park. (Kenneth Chan)

Under the B.C. government’s regulations, municipal governments across the province receive 10 per cent of the net casino gaming revenue from casinos located within their jurisdiction. Hastings Racecourse & Casino generated $9.48 million in the 2019/2020 fiscal year, with $948,000 going to the City, and $9.96 million in the 2022/2023 fiscal year, with $996,000 going to the City.

Could this impact the potential Vancouver Whitecaps stadium proposal at the PNE?

It is not immediately clear whether the First Nation’s proposal is connected to Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s potential plan to build a new outdoor soccer-specific stadium at the PNE — or whether it could complicate those efforts to save the team.

In early April 2025, the Whitecaps announced they are in active discussions with the municipal government about the potential construction of a dedicated new home stadium at the PNE fairgrounds in Hastings Park, replacing their current use of BC Place Stadium in downtown Vancouver.

At the time, Axel Schuster, the CEO and sporting director of the Whitecaps, said the City is “very supportive.”

The franchise’s current ownership views securing plans for a new purpose-built, soccer-specific stadium as a critical step toward keeping the team in Vancouver and providing a strong foundation for prospective future owners to do the same. Such a facility would conceivably allow the Whitecaps to play on a natural grass pitch — a key factor in attracting more of the world’s top soccer talent — and unlock new revenue-generating opportunities that are not currently available at BC Place Stadium.

Hastings Racecourse & Casino at Hastings Park. (Kenneth Chan)

The temporary 27,500-seat Empire Field stadium at Hastings Park in Vancouver, as seen in June 2011. (Anne-Marie Sorvin/USA TODAY Sports)

“We are all big supporters of the Whitecaps, and we would love to see the Whitecaps remain in Vancouver. As a City, we will do anything that we can to help that,” Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim told media shortly after the Whitecaps made their announcement last month.

“There are a lot of things that I can’t comment about, but you know… We will do whatever we can within our power that makes sense for the residents of Vancouver to keep the team in the region, for sure,” reiterated the Mayor.

The Whitecaps and the City have not disclosed the specific Hastings Park sites under consideration for a potential stadium, but a proposal for the redevelopment of Hastings Racecourse & Casino is widely speculated as the most likely option — given its large, open, level footprint and the impending expiration of Great Canadian’s lease.

However, a soccer-specific stadium sized to meet the needs of the Whitecaps and Major League Soccer — with a capacity of 20,000 to 30,000 seats — would likely occupy only a smaller portion of the racecourse’s overall 50-acre footprint. There have been suggestions that the racecourse space could be repurposed to accommodate not only a new Whitecaps stadium, but also much-needed expansions of the PNE fairgrounds’ entertainment, exhibition, and amusement/theme park facilities and offerings.

Another site within Hastings Park that possibly meets these criteria is the large surface vehicle parking lot at the park’s northeast corner; however, this location is unavailable, as it is earmarked for Playland’s future seven-acre northward expansion and evolution into a theme park.

hastings racecourse pne amphitheatre construction june 1 2025

Construction of the new Freedom Mobile Arch, the new PNE amphitheatre, as of June 1, 2025, with Hastings Racecourse & Casino in the background. (Kenneth Chan)

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