Should the Vancouver Whitecaps revive the Gastown waterfront stadium concept? | Daily Hive

Should the Vancouver Whitecaps revive the Gastown waterfront stadium concept instead of pursuing Hastings Racecourse?

Cancelled project: 2000s artistic rendering of the never-built outdoor soccer stadium over the waterfront railyard north of Gastown. (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

Today, Vancouver mayoral candidate Kareem Allam, running under the new Vancouver Liberals civic party, is calling for immediate and decisive action to keep the Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the city by focusing on reviving the club’s long-cancelled proposal to build an outdoor soccer-specific stadium on the Gastown waterfront railyard in Downtown Vancouver.

This was originally put forward as an idea by club owner Greg Kerfoot in the second half of the 2000s.

That concept envisioned building an elevated deck over the railyard just north of Waterfront Station and The Landing office building, with the venue featuring an initial capacity of 15,000 seats — expandable to 30,000 seats in the future.

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In the mid-2000s, to advance the proposal, Kerfoot acquired the airspace over the vast railyard and The Landing office building, with the stadium proposal at the time even incorporating a stadium entrance within a redesigned office lobby entrance.

In addition to the stadium, which would have weather protection over the seating, there could also be a hotel, retail, restaurant, and other commercial developments adjacent to the venue in the airspace.

Furthermore, Kerfoot was planning to cover 100 per cent of the 15,000-seat stadium’s construction cost, estimated at roughly $75 million at the time. There were even some talks of potentially building it in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics, potentially using the venue for a fan festival or even the nightly medal ceremonies.

However, City of Vancouver planners at the time opposed the proposal, asserting that there were concerns with hazardous goods contained in the freight cars in the railyard below, that the footprint of the site needed to be larger, and that there would be transportation access issues. As well, there were concerns raised by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and local architects and planners, who asserted that a cohesive master planning exercise was needed for the broader Central Waterfront area east of Canada Place, as opposed to a piecemeal development approach.

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Artistic rendering of the never-built, 15,000-seat outdoor soccer stadium over the Gastown waterfront railyard north of Gastown. (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

Artistic rendering of the final concept of Vancouver Whitecaps’ waterfront stadium, north of the Gastown railyard and partly over water. (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

The Whitecaps, who were in the United Soccer League at the time and preparing to enter Major League Soccer (MLS), also pitched a revised concept that placed the stadium further to the north — partly over water. This required the use of federally owned port lands and a land swap, but the port authority did not support the concept either.

At some point during this period, when the club was actively exploring soccer-specific stadium options, Kerfoot also briefly contemplated building the venue on an 18-acre vacant gravel lot at the northwest corner of the False Creek Flats, between Chinatown and Pacific Central Station. That site was later acquired by Providence Health Care in a $46-million deal to develop the new St. Paul’s Hospital campus, with construction now nearing completion and an opening expected in 2027.

With real obstacles in the way of building a Whitecaps-owned stadium, the club ultimately settled on being a tenant of the provincially owned and operated BC Place Stadium, following its 2011 renovation, incorporating a retractable roof and a wide range of other modern venue upgrades.

In 2009, City staff completed the highly preliminary Central Waterfront Hub framework — triggered earlier by Kerfoot’s stadium proposal — to significantly expand Waterfront Station’s function as the regional public transit hub, while incorporating mixed-use commercial developments immediately north of the heritage former Canadian Pacific building. But the early concept for the area did not incorporate a potential stadium.

Vancouver Central Waterfront Hub Framework

Concept of the 2009 Central Waterfront Hub Framework area in Downtown Vancouver. (City of Vancouver)

With a change of municipal political leadership at the time, attention quickly turned to creating a strategy to demolish the Dunsmuir and Georgia viaducts to support the new developments outlined in the City’s eventual Northeast False Creek Plan, with work on further advancing the Central Waterfront planning process put on hold — until the last few years.

Following Vancouver City Council direction in 2022 to restart the planning process, City staff reached a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in May 2024 with landowners and stakeholders in the area to conduct a more detailed planning process for the Central Waterfront’s future redevelopment.

This planning partnership entails the City working with the Government of British Columbia, Transport Canada, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, GHD Equity Holdings, and Cadillac Fairview. Although they are not a part of the MOU, TransLink, Canadian National, and local First Nations are also involved in the work.

There are many competing interests and priorities between these entities, but through the MOU they agreed on the following vision for the area: “Identify and advance local, regional, provincial and national goals related to economic growth, business, commerce, trade and supply chains, transportation (including people and goods movement), tourism (including convention centre and hotel capacity), housing, including opportunities for densification, First Nations history, culture and reconciliation, public amenities, the public realm, and climate change.”

This site is also notably the final opportunity to provide the Vancouver Convention Centre with a seamless major expansion in the future to ensure the facility remains competitive and can attract more and larger conventions, meetings, trade shows, and other events.

Gastown railyard and Waterfront Road looking east from the pedestrian bridge to Waterfront Station’s SeaBus terminal. (Kenneth Chan)

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Office towers in Downtown Vancouver and the Gastown railyard from the perspective of Waterfront Road. (Kenneth Chan)

In a statement released this morning, Allam asserted ABC mayor Ken Sim was not doing enough to save the Whitecaps and dismissed the idea of building a stadium at the Hastings Racecourse site at Hastings Park/PNE, calling it a “distraction” that lacks the necessary infrastructure — particularly direct rapid transit access, like SkyTrain — to succeed.

In December 2025, the City and the Whitecaps reached an MOU to begin a negotiation process for a 99-year land lease agreement of the 40-acre racecourse site and establish a redevelopment concept with a stadium and accompanying entertainment district. Under the MOU, the deadline to achieve the lease agreement and preliminary project concept is the end of 2026.

There have been no public updates on the planning work being performed to date for the racecourse site. However, Sim has asserted that the City has done its part to support the team, and suggested the ball is now with the club to advance the concept and for the provincial government to provide a better interim deal at BC Place Stadium.

“Without SkyTrain connectivity, the project simply won’t pencil out,” stated Allam, adding that distance from Downtown Vancouver would also reduce revenue potential tied to premium seating and entertainment district integration.

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

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Overflow vehicle parking within the oval infield of Hastings Racecourse during the 2025 PNE Fair. (Kenneth Chan)

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Overflow vehicle parking within the oval infield of Hastings Racecourse during the 2025 PNE Fair. (Kenneth Chan)

Instead, Allam suggests the overwhelming focus needs to be on advancing Kerfoot’s original idea through the Central Waterfront site over the Gastown railyard next to Waterfront Station, which is served by two SkyTrain lines, SeaBus, numerous major bus routes, and the West Coast Express commuter rail.

While Kerfoot sold The Landing office building in 2020, he still owns the railyard’s airspace.

A key obstacle to Kerfoot’s proposal in the 2000s was the presence of the active railyard beneath an elevated deck for the stadium, but Allam argued that modern engineering solutions have made such developments feasible, pointing to projects like the Minnesota Twins’ Target Field, as well as stadiums such as Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, all of which are built adjacent to or above rail infrastructure.

“Safety and engineering technology have come a long way,” he said. “There are dozens of examples proving this can be done.”

Allam proposed bringing in experienced project leaders, specifically citing Mortenson, the company involved in the Minnesota stadium project, to help demonstrate financial viability and engineering feasibility to potential local buyers and league officials.

Allam also suggests strong municipal leadership is needed to facilitate negotiations among the area’s landowners and stakeholders, including the port authority.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim signs MOU for stadium at Hastings Park with Whitecaps FC CEO Axel Schuster, December 2025. (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

The future of the Whitecaps in Vancouver remains extremely precarious, with highly concerning comments this week made by the MLS commissioner, the club, and provincial and municipal leaders, as well as media reports that a formal bid had been made by an American billionaire to relocate the team to Las Vegas.

This week, Premier David Eby also rejected an idea to have the Whitecaps operate the provincially owned BC Place Stadium, even as a temporary measure to potentially improve their revenue situation until a new stadium under the club’s full control is built elsewhere.

On Thursday, Mayor Sim told the media during the FIFA Congress at the Vancouver Convention Centre that there has been a surge in potential local prospective ownership groups over the past 48 hours looking to help keep the team in the city. This follows a statement made by the club earlier this week for any potential local prospective ownership groups to urgently come forward.

Meanwhile, a highly credible proponent for the City’s new effort in landing a Major League Baseball expansion franchise has reportedly zeroed in on City-owned, 22-acre vacant Southeast False Creek waterfront lot, immediately east of the south end of the Cambie Street Bridge.

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