Bob Mackin
Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber calls B.C. Place — one of the 16 FIFA World Cup 26 venues — not a “viable stadium situation” for the MLS Cup runner-up Vancouver Whitecaps.
But is it?
Under freedom of information, theBreaker.news obtained a copy of the original 2011 contract with B.C. Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), the 2016 sponsorship addendum amendment and the 2020 pandemic agreement.
Inside the contract
The parties originally entered an agreement dated March 10, 2011 that expires March 14, 2026.
The 2016 update set the Whitecaps’ annual payments to PavCo at $225,000 from 2017 to 2021. The payments increased by $25,000-per year beginning in 2022, maxing out at $325,000 in 2025, the equivalent of $19,118 per MLS regular season game.
The deal also hiked the facility fee to $3.25 per ticket and the parties agreed to a review of facility fees during the 2021 operating year.
While several clauses are redacted, theBreaker.news has appealed for full transparency based on an adjudicator’s 2019 ruling upheld in 2021 by the B.C. Supreme Court.
Public-paid pitch
In the mid-2000s, Whitecaps’ principal owner Greg Kerfoot proposed building his own $75 million outdoor stadium north of Gastown. He did not contribute to the $563 million 2011 B.C. Place renovation, which included a retractable roof. Nor is he contributing to the $109 million renovations for FIFA World Cup 26.
Back to the future
The Whitecaps continue to negotiate an extension with PavCo. But they now have a clear path to return to East Vancouver after the Dec. 5 announcement of the end of horse racing at Hastings Racecourse.
Dec. 11 is the 52nd anniversary of the North American Soccer League awarding Vancouver a franchise. Mayor Ken Sim and Whitecaps’ CEO Axel Shuster are marking the day by announcing next steps toward a proposed outdoor, soccer-specific stadium on the site of the 1899-opened track.
Key, unanswered questions. How much would it cost? Who would pay for it?
City council agreed behind-closed-doors on Feb. 25 to a three-page memorandum of understanding signed with Kerfoot. That followed the Dec. 13, 2024 announcement that Kerfoot and minority partners Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett and Steve Nash hired Goldman Sachs to find a buyer.
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