Mayor Ken Sim explains Vancouver Whitecaps PNE stadium idea | Daily Hive

Mayor Ken Sim explains Vancouver Whitecaps PNE stadium idea: 'We will do whatever we can'

Vancouver Whitecaps FC defeated Toronto FC at the temporary Empire Field stadium in their inaugural MLS match on March 19, 2011. (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

There is a flurry of speculation about the future of Vancouver Whitecaps FC, now intertwined with discussions of a potential new stadium proposal at the PNE — part of a bid to keep the team in the city, regardless of its future ownership.

The Whitecaps issued a statement Friday evening confirming that they have been engaged in talks with the City of Vancouver on pursuing a possible new stadium project at Hastings Park, where the fairgrounds of the PNE are located.

On Saturday, Axel Schuster, the CEO and sporting director of the Whitecaps, told the media that all of this is being pursued to achieve the “one goal” to “keep the club in Vancouver and to find a very good setup for the future for this club in Vancouver.”

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He emphasized that this does not change the current ownership group’s position in December 2024, when they announced their plans to sell the team, which ignited concerns over the risk of the team’s departure from Vancouver. With the framework for a new stadium, this will provide the potential new owners with “a ready-for-you option on the table for a stadium.”

“The City is very supportive,” says Schuster

“The ownership group hasn’t given up on the club and that the ownership group isn’t running away. They have the biggest interest that this club stays here, finds a successful setup, that we find a next ownership group,” said Schuster.

Currently, the team uses the 54,500-seat BC Place Stadium as its home field, where it typically plays 17 regular season games per year.

The stadium is normally configured for about half of the capacity during MLS matches, with the draping system concealing the upper bowl to create a more intimate venue. However, a longstanding criticism of the Whitecaps’ use of the stadium is its cavernous feel — even with the draping system — and the less-than-optimal sightlines for soccer, which leave spectators farther from the field due to the shallow seating grade.

The use of artificial turf for the playing field has also deterred higher-calibre international players from joining the Whitecaps’ roster, and it is said to have also deterred global stars from visiting teams from playing. In addition to the other anchor tenants of the CFL’s BC Lions, BC Place Stadium is also used for concerts, trade shows, and other events.

As well, with the provincial government’s ownership and operation of BC Place Stadium, there have been some limits to the team’s revenue-generating possibilities.

The Whitecaps have called BC Place Stadium home since October 2011, after the renovations and the installation of a new retractable roof reached completion.

The team made BC Place Stadium its home after plans to privately fund and build the “Waterfront Stadium” fell through. Proposed in the mid-to-late 2000s, the stadium was intended to be a 15,000-seat, soccer-specific venue — expandable to 30,000 — on downtown Vancouver’s Central Waterfront, just north of Gastown. It was originally envisioned to be completed in time for the Whitecaps’ entry into Major League Soccer (MLS).

whitecaps stadium waterfront gastown railyard

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

Cancelled project: 2000s artistic rendering of the final concept of the Vancouver Whitecaps’ Waterfront Stadium. (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

A new stadium at the PNE would conceivably be right-sized for the needs of the Whitecaps, with more purpose-built amenities and a more intimate design for soccer.

Upon inquiry, PavCo, the provincial Crown corporation that oversees BC Place Stadium, told Daily Hive Urbanized the Whitecaps’ lease for the venue is set to expire later in 2025.

“BC Place is proud to be the current home venue for the Vancouver Whitecaps and we value our partnership with them. We understand the team’s ownership are currently exploring several options for their future, especially as the team is up for sale,” reads PavCo’s statement.

“Everyone at BC Place and PavCo remains committed to working closely with the Whitecaps as they shape the future of the team, and we will continue to explore the best ways to support the overall growth of soccer in British Columbia.”

When asked whether the initiation of new PNE stadium talks has anything to do with the lease negotiations with PavCo, Schuster denied that suggestion, stating that the officials with PavCo also approached the team and that they have been in “very open, friendly” and “encouraging” conversations with BC Place Stadium general manager Chris May.

“BC Place is the best stadium we have in British Columbia, and it will still be the only stadium next year when we need a new lease,” said Schuster.

Schuster also described the new stadium discussions with the municipal government as highly positive.

“I think we felt confident enough to say this looks like a very good process. We also, and I can only repeat what we had in the statement, that the City is very supportive and has come to these conversations very open-minded,” continued Schuster, while also noting that he could not comment on any specifics at this time, such as the possible exact location of the stadium within Hastings Park.

“We will do whatever we can,” says Mayor

On Monday, during a press conference on the formation of the City of Vancouver’s new Task Force on Business Growth, when asked about these discussions with the Whitecaps, Mayor Ken Sim suggested the municipal government will do its utmost on its part to prevent the team from leaving the city.

“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,” said the mayor.

When asked whether the relocation of the Whitecaps to the PNE would be an economic setback for the businesses in downtown Vancouver that currently benefit from the influx of the tens of thousands of spectators, Sim again reiterated the need to focus on the bigger picture of keeping the team in the city.

“I think what we need to focus on here, or what we’re going to focus on here, is the fact that the Whitecaps might leave the region, and so we’ll look at everything,” continued Sim.

“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.”

vancouver city council mayor ken sim april 7 2025 f

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim announcing the new Task Force on Business Growth on April 7, 2025. (Kenneth Chan)

Partnerships could help expedite PNE’s renewal

In an interview with Daily Hive Urbanized on Monday, Vancouver City Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung, who was also the chair of the PNE’s board of directors for the past two years, said she had been an early advocate for exploring this opportunity.

She says that while the City’s 2010-created Hastings Park/PNE master plan does not envision such an outdoor sports stadium, it does support the overall goal of improving the fairgrounds as a year-round, multi-use entertainment destination.

“I think that partnerships are really the strategy that would help to actually advance that master plan and create some really good synergistic uses on that site and make it a great entertainment hub and destination,” said Kirby-Yung.

“You want to have a critical mass of different uses on the site so that people can go out there and they can do different things,” highlighting potential synergies with different activities and programming.

She also noted that many of the venues at Hastings Park are aging, including the Pacific Coliseum — the 1968-built, 17,000-seat Pacific Coliseum, formerly home to the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks and the WHL’s Vancouver Giants.

As well, construction is well underway on the new 10,000-seat covered outdoor amphitheatre, which will reach completion next year in time for the fairgrounds’ use for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Fan Festival.

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

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

Without commenting on the specifics being discussed, her personal opinion is that a new stadium should be located on the existing PNE fairgrounds footprint, not including Empire Fields, which is now configured into sports playing fields, a running track, a playground, and other community and recreational amenities.

“Having the sports fields in the park space is really important to the city, and we’ve been committed to keeping that, so in my mind, you wouldn’t be looking to use that. You would be looking to determine what the amount of footage is that’s required and trying to get options just on the existing PNE adjacent to, but not encroaching on Empire Fields,” she said.

“Hastings Park is pretty tired and old, and you’re seeing a lot of changes in horse racing, so I think there’s a chance to modernize and bring new entertainment options.”

Over the years, there have been some talks within the horse racing community about potentially relocating and consolidating the activities of Hastings Racecourse and Fraser Downs in Surrey within a new purpose-built racecourse facility in Langley Township. It should also be noted that there is also a casino beneath the grandstands of Hastings Racecourse, operated by Great Canadian Gaming Corporation.

A new outdoor stadium at Hastings Park would represent a full-circle moment.

The site of Empire Fields once housed the 33,000-seat Empire Stadium, originally built in 1954 for the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. It was demolished in 1993 after becoming obsolete with the rise in use of BC Place Stadium.

Until BC Place Stadium opened in 1983, Empire Stadium served as the home field for the BC Lions and the Vancouver Whitecaps during their time in the North American Soccer League (NASL).

When the Whitecaps joined Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2011, they temporarily returned to Hastings Park, playing at the 27,500-seat Empire Field while BC Place underwent major renovations, including installing a retractable roof. The BC Lions also used Empire Field as their temporary home during this period. After BC Place reopened in September 2011, Empire Field was dismantled. Its former footprint was redeveloped into the current community sports and recreation space.

vancouver whitecaps empire field pne 2011

Vancouver Whitecaps FC at the 2010/2011 temporary Empire Field stadium at Hastings Park. (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

New PNE stadium could help build demand for new rapid transit

While Hastings Park is next to Highway 1, it lacks more optimal public transit options than BC Place Stadium’s proximity to SkyTrain stations and other major services.

Kirby-Yung suggested that an additional major sports and entertainment venue at Hastings Park could further support the case for new and improved public transit services along the Hastings Street corridor.

“When you create a number of different destination activities, you actually add to the case for advancing more transit and along the Hastings corridor, which already needs investment to get people moving more quickly,” she said.

In October 2023, Vancouver City Council approved Kirby-Yung’s member motion directing City staff to perform a study on building new rapid transit along the Hastings Street corridor between downtown Vancouver and Hastings Park while also exploring new measures to speed up buses on certain corridors across the city, including Hastings Street.

‘This also included studying the potential for rapid transit on Hastings to extend it out to the PNE and eventually connect into the North Shore,” she said.

“The City has already indicated its position and commitment to the UBC SkyTrain extension, and so the conversation around Hastings makes a lot of sense. If you have more destination uses, it actually strengthens the business case for transit.”

Vancouver Whitecaps FC defeated Toronto FC at the temporary Empire Field stadium in their inaugural MLS match on March 19, 2011. (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

Vancouver Whitecaps FC at the 2010/2011 temporary Empire Field stadium at Hastings Park. (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

When asked about the potential economic losses to downtown Vancouver businesses without the Whitecaps’ crowds, Kirby-Yung asserted that BC Place Stadium already sees a very high utility and that their relocation potentially opens up the possibility for other types of events.

On average, BC Place Stadium is booked for about 200 days of the year. For the 2024 MLS season, the Whitecaps played a total of 23 home matches, including 17 regular season matches.

There have also been occasions when other booked events at BC Place Stadium interfered with the Whitecaps’ home match schedule, such as the “Wings and Wizards” interactive family event in July 2021, the BC Home and Garden Show in February 2024, and the World Supercross Championship in October 2024, which interfered with the MLS playoffs.

“The amount of nights or days that it’s used for Whitecaps games is a small proportion of events that are happening. Trade shows and concerts are happening constantly at BC Place, and so I think that there’s a real market for filling that venue, regardless of the Whitecaps’ use,” she said.

“I know that it’s not ideal in terms of being a purpose-designed facility for the Whitecaps. I think what would really strengthen the Whitecaps’ ability to remain in the city is to have more control over their destiny, but I don’t think BC Place will be sitting empty.”

Similarly, the BC Lions use the stadium on a limited basis, with just nine regular home games played each season.

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