Vancouver Whitecaps playoff ticket sales surge and there's going to be an enormous crowd at BC Place
It’s going to be an electric atmosphere at BC Place when the Vancouver Whitecaps host their next playoff match.
The Whitecaps are in the MLS Western Conference semi-final for the first time in eight years, with a chance to go further than they’ve ever gone before. Since entering MLS in 2011, the Whitecaps have never been to a conference final, never mind the MLS Cup Final.
A shootout win Saturday in Texas completed the two-game sweep of FC Dallas, setting up a playoff rematch with LAFC. This is the third year in a row that Vancouver and LAFC will meet in the playoffs, with the Southern Californian club winning the two previous meetings.
But this time around, the Whitecaps are the ones with home-field advantage.
That’ll be especially pronounced, as a club spokesperson told Daily Hive that 33,000 tickets have already been sold.
Tickets went on sale Sunday for the Saturday, Nov. 22 match, and lower-bowl seats were snapped up fast. The club has opened large portions of the upper bowl, and those seats are moving quick as well.
Whitecaps opened up the BC Place upper bowl for their last home playoff match (@WhitecapsFC/X)
The match is guaranteed to set an MLS-era Whitecaps playoff attendance record, which was set in their previous game when 32,066 fans saw Vancouver beat up on FC Dallas in Game 1 of the first round.
With 19 days to go before the match, there is tons of time for the Whitecaps to add to this attendance figure. A full BC Place sellout is within the realm of possibility.
The Whitecaps sold out BC Place earlier this season, as 53,837 fans showed up for a Concacaf Champions Cup semi-final matchup against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.
While they don’t have Messi to draw fans this time around, this match carries plenty of star power. Not only will Thomas Müller suit up for Vancouver, but LAFC has a superstar of their own: Son Heung-Min. The South Korean legend joined LAFC in August from Tottenham of the English Premier League, and this will be his first visit to Vancouver. Heung-Min is the second-highest paid player in MLS, behind only Messi.
The MLS Cup Playoffs have a single-game elimination format after the first round, making this match a do-or-die for both clubs. Given the Whitecaps’ championship aspirations this season, this has to be considered the biggest MLS match in franchise history.
“See you next round,” Müller said after the Whitecaps’ last win. “We are just a strong team. Mentally strong, physically strong. But it’s always easy to talk a lot after a win. We have to stay calm, relax now, recover, focus on the next one.”