MLS Commissioner Signals 'Tough Decisions' If Vancouver Stadium Issue Is Unresolved

Six other cities are said to be interested in hosting the Whitecaps were they to leave Vancouver.

MLS commissioner Don Garber discussed the issue around Vancouver's stadium for the 2026 season. / Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

FORT LAUDERDALE – The Vancouver Whitecaps are expected to have upwards of 20,000 fans at their MLS Cup watch party on Saturday at BC Place, but there is little clarity on where the team will play its home games in the 2026 season and beyond. 

Speaking to reporters in his State of the League address on Thursday ahead of the 2025 MLS Cup between the Whitecaps and Inter Miami, MLS Commissioner Don Garber did not rule out having “to make some tough decisions,”  including potential relocation. 

The Whitecaps’ stadium deal with the government-owned BC Place expires at the end of 2025 and negotiations have made little progress on a 2026 renewal. 

Garber has been clear: The club cannot stay at BC Place long term; it needs a soccer-specific venue, and any new lease must be more favorable to the Whitecaps, who have previously been unable to generate significant revenue. 

“What we have there has to change. And right now, we're not necessarily on a path to do that. ... We had a very positive meeting with the mayor. We're looking at getting a better lease at BC Place right now. There's been no movement on that, and it's been a month,” Garber said. 

“We are in the business of delivering for those people that really, really want to have an MLS team that they can love and embrace. And that's not just fans. They've done that... You need to have cities and provinces do that, and we're still waiting to see whether they'll be able to deliver. And if they don't, we're going to have to make some tough decisions.”

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Garber Intensifies Previous Sentiment

Don Garber would like to find a quick resolution to Vancouver's stadium issue. / Mike Lawrie/Getty Images

Garber’s statements on Thursday came after he visited Vancouver and stakeholders last month. 

“There is a possibility that’s not the path we want to be on. It’s part of what I’m here for,” he said at the time. “This just requires a different vision and a different way to go about thinking about what a path forward can be.”

On Dec. 13, 2024, the Whitecaps' current ownership group, Greg Kerfoot, Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett, and Steve Nash, went public with their desire to sell the club. In the spring, potential plans for a soccer-specific stadium were also outlined. 

Don Garber on future of Vancouver Whitecaps 🎙️

"We're waiting to see if (government officials) will be able to deliver – and if they don't? We're going to have to make some tough decisions."#VWFC pic.twitter.com/4YLkm7zXAr

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) December 5, 2025

Since initially listing the club for sale, the Whitecaps have broken out of their mediocre mold and become just the second team in the modern era to advance to each of the Concacaf Champions Cup final, domestic cup final, and MLS Cup in the same season. They also made the team’s first superstar signing in German legend Thomas Müller. 

The on-field success and relocation worries clash at a critical time, with Vancouver hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

Yet, it’s one in which there is a non-zero chance that hoisting the MLS Cup would be the team’s last moment, despite being the longest-running professional club in North America, having launched in 1974. 

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Six Markets Eye MLS Opportunity

BC Place was packed to the brim as the Vancouver Whitecaps knocked off LAFC in the Western Conference semifinal. / Elizabeth Ruiz/Getty Images

While the intention from Garber and the current ownership has been to keep the Whitecaps in Vancouver, a historic hotbed for the sport, other potential cities are eyeing the club in relocation efforts. 

The Athletic reported that six groups have monitored the situation with the Whitecaps, including those from Detroit, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Indianapolis and Edmonton. 

Each interested city has had professional teams before, and reportedly, representatives from two of those cities attended the Western Conference semifinal against LAFC, which featured a crowd of 53,397, the third largest in the club’s 51-year history. 

“The MLS team, its owners, its fans, its players have done everything to earn the support that they’re not getting today from the city and the province,” Garber added Thursday.

“What more can you do? Go to the final and basically convince the entire country that MLS is an important and valuable part of its sporting landscape. We’ve been building soccer stadiums; we’re soon to have 30 of them. We’re tenants in BC Place.”

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