Will Vancouver see Canada's FIFA World Cup stars again without grass at BC Place?
Vancouver has a strong case to claim the title of best host city at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The way Vancouverites embraced the tournament was a sight to behold. Sold-out stadiums, packed watch parties, and the wonderfully chaotic scenes on Granville Street were incredible.
This may be the best soccer city in Canada, and we’ve got the best stadium, too.
And yet, we may not see the Canadian men’s national team play here again for a long time.
Canada Soccer has announced a pair of international matches taking place on home soil this fall. Billed as “the homecoming,” these are the first matches for the men’s national team since their run ended at the FIFA World Cup.
Spoiler alert: neither match is taking place in Vancouver.
Canada will play a friendly against Chile Sept. 26 at BMO Field in Toronto, followed by another against Peru on Oct. 3 at Stade Saputo in Montreal.
You can pack more people inside BC Place (54,500) in Vancouver than either one of those venues. BMO Field has a capacity under 30,000, and Stade Saputo is under 20,000.
How many people would turn up for Alphonso Davies and company? I’d bet over 40,000.
Many will point to geography as the reason why Canada is choosing to stay east. It’s closer to where many of Canada’s star players play in Europe, making for an easier journey for guys like Davies, Jonathan David, and Stephen Eustáquio. And I’m sure that doesn’t help Vancouver’s case.
But as head coach Jesse Marsch explained last year, there’s a bigger reason why the men’s national team rarely plays in Vancouver.
Canada hasn’t played on turf in quite some time
Jesse Marsch pumps his fists in celebration after Canada beats Qatar… on real grass at BC Place. (Simon Fearn/Imagn Images)
“It’s not [geography] as much as it’s the surface. This is the main issue, is the BC Place surface,” Marsch told Daily Hive in February 2025, pointing to BC Place’s artificial turf field. “Our players aren’t too snobbish to play on artificial [turf]. They’re ok with it. But it’s usually about getting the opponents to come.”
The natural grass surface at BC Place used during the FIFA World Cup has already been torn up and a new artificial turf field is in its place.
By contrast, both BMO Field and Stade Saputo have natural grass permanently.
Outside of the World Cup, the Canadian men’s national team has played just two matches at BC Place since 2019. They played a Concacaf Nations League game versus Curaçao on June 9, 2022, on turf and a Gold Cup match against Honduras on a temporary natural grass pitch on June 17, 2025.
The message from Marsch seemed pretty clear. The team is going to go where the grass is.
Since Marsch was hired by Canada Soccer in May 2024, the men’s national team has played all its home matches on natural grass. That includes seven matches in Toronto and two in Montreal. Vancouver and Edmonton also each hosted a match, on temporary natural grass pitches.
“There’s more efforts to try to think about how to get grass into BC Place, and I know that it was done for Wrexham [in 2024]. We’ve already visited with BC Place about the potential to do this more often,” Marsch added.
“I come to Vancouver every time [I can]. It’s one of the best cities in the world. So it’s not like we don’t want to be here. It’s just really finding a way to play on grass.”
Could grass be installed temporarily in the future?
“BC Place is always pleased to host Canada Soccer, and we value the strong relationship we have built over many years,” a PavCo spokesperson told Daily Hive. “We have successfully installed a natural grass pitch at the stadium for both single-day and multi-day events in the past, including the Concacaf Gold Cup match last year and the Whitecaps vs. Wrexham match in 2023.
“We remain open to discussions with event organizers about opportunities to install a natural grass pitch for future events at BC Place whenever there is a desire to do so.”
Installing natural grass for an opponent like Honduras, which drew just 24,286 fans at BC Place in 2025, might not make financial sense for Canada Soccer. But what about a more high-profile team?
You can sell out BC Place for Concacaf rivals like the United States or Mexico. They’d surely get a big crowd for a top-30 country from South America, Asia, or Europe too.
Until then, despite the city’s role in the FIFA World Cup, Vancouver could be watching from the sidelines.