Vancouver Whitecaps say they have agreed to extend their BC Place lease through the 2027 MLS sprint season while continuing work on a longer-term stadium solution.
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The Vancouver Whitecaps say they have reached an agreement to extend the club’s lease at BC Place through the 2027 “sprint season,” keeping the MLS team in Vancouver for another season.
Whitecaps chief executive officer Axel Schuster said the extension is meant to support ticket sales for the sprint campaign while the club continues efforts toward a longer-term stadium arrangement. “(The extension) should only be a tool, and it should only be the paper that allows us to go out with ticket sales,” Schuster said. “But we all have to continue to work on how a longer-term agreement should and could look like that is improving our situation.”
The club began selling tickets for the 2027 sprint season on Tuesday. The condensed schedule runs from February through May, with each of MLS’s 30 teams playing a 14-game regular season before single-elimination playoffs. MLS will then move to a summer-to-spring calendar beginning in July 2027.
Schuster said more work remains, including addressing revenue limits tied to the club not owning its home stadium. He pointed to the Whitecaps’ reliance on the contract model and noted that the team is still at the “end of (the league in) revenues,” alongside “a lot of space or a lot of things that need to improve.”
The 55,000-seat BC Place is owned and operated by PavCo, a provincial Crown corporation. The Whitecaps have been for sale since December 2024, and ownership has said it wants the team to stay in Vancouver. The club and MLS have held multiple meetings with representatives from municipal, provincial and federal governments, as well as leaders of three local First Nations, to discuss the team’s future.
Some Whitecaps season ticket members may see seat prices change for next season as new premium sections are released. The club described the “Tunnel Club” as providing exclusive access to a hospitality suite with all-inclusive food and two complimentary beverages, plus the ability to watch players walk out to the field before games. “Creekside Terrace” was described as an all-inclusive premium hospitality experience in a revamped space offering views of Vancouver’s False Creek while fans watch the game simultaneously.
Schuster said some seat inventory connected to the two new sections includes seats currently held by ticket members, and those prices will increase because the “seat is not the same product anymore,” he said. He added that season ticket holders who want to keep their membership but avoid premium pricing can move to another seat in the stadium.
The Whitecaps also announced that star midfielder Thomas Muller has signed a contract extension through the sprint season. Schuster said it remains unclear what happens after that, and he said the club is currently focused on finishing the 2026 campaign and preparing for early 2027.
“People should know we're here, we're staying in the sprint season,” Schuster said. “So the club is not going yet, and nothing is happening yet … And the only way you can show us your support and help is buying tickets and come to the games.”
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