Rob is the Editor-in-Chief of Offside, the sports brand for ZoomerMedia.

It was a day of hope for the Vancouver Whitecaps, who now have the go-ahead to put together a plan to build a new stadium at Hastings Park.
It&#8217;s a move that promises to save the Whitecaps, keeping them in Vancouver and avoiding their relocation to a new city.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said he was &#8220;giddy&#8221; about the announcement that took place Thursday morning at City Hall.
The Whitecaps and the City of Vancouver have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), in the hopes of solidifying a plan to build an outdoor, soccer-specific stadium at Hastings Park, <a href="https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/hastings-racecourse-hastings-park-transformation-possibility" target="_blank">where Hastings Racecourse currently lies</a>.
&#8220;This negotiation period will run through the end of 2026 with the ultimate goal of arranging a long-term lease between the City and the Vancouver Whitecaps. Under such a lease, the City will retain ownership of the land at Hastings Park and we intend to secure a fair market value lease while ensuring no undue financial risk to taxpayers,&#8221; said the mayor.
&#8220;This is not about the approval of a new project. Rather, this MOU is a framework for negotiations and demonstrates very firm commitment by both the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Whitecaps towards building a new stadium right here in Vancouver.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_2224642" style="width: 2058px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2224642" class="size-full wp-image-2224642" src="https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2025/12/vancouver-whitecaps-ken-sim.jpeg" alt="vancouver whitecaps ken sim axel schuster" width="2048" height="1365" srcset="https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2025/12/vancouver-whitecaps-ken-sim.jpeg 2048w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2025/12/vancouver-whitecaps-ken-sim-500x333.jpeg 500w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2025/12/vancouver-whitecaps-ken-sim-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2025/12/vancouver-whitecaps-ken-sim-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2025/12/vancouver-whitecaps-ken-sim-1200x800.jpeg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" />All smiles at City Hall (@WhitecapsFC/X)</div>
Sim said he wants to turn Hastings Park into a &#8220;vibrant destination,&#8221; calling it an entertainment district. It would not only include the Whitecaps, but also the Vancouver Goldeneyes at the Pacific Coliseum and concerts at the <a href="https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/freedom-mobile-arch-pne-amphitheatre-construction-update-cost-budget" target="_blank">new PNE amphitheatre</a> that opens in 2026. Sim also mentioned the possibility of SkyTrain extending to the PNE, as part of a connection from the North Shore to Richmond, but that&#8217;s clearly well into the future.
While today&#8217;s news was big on hope, it was short on details.
Whitecaps CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster declined to give an estimated size of a new stadium, though most assume it&#8217;ll be somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000.
Will the BC Lions be involved? Unclear.
And the biggest question of all: who&#8217;s paying for all this?
&#8220;It&#8217;s up to the Whitecaps and their partners to come up with a plan and finance that plan,&#8221; said Sim.
The Whitecaps are still for sale, of course. The hope is that this MOU makes them more enticing for a local buyer.
Sim didn&#8217;t mince words when speaking about the importance of a new stadium to ensure the team remains Vancouver&#8217;s Whitecaps.
<div id="attachment_2224695" style="width: 2058px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2224695" class="size-full wp-image-2224695" src="https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2025/12/ken-sim-vancouver-whitecaps.jpg" alt="ken sim vancouver whitecaps" width="2048" height="1365" srcset="https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2025/12/ken-sim-vancouver-whitecaps.jpg 2048w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2025/12/ken-sim-vancouver-whitecaps-500x333.jpg 500w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2025/12/ken-sim-vancouver-whitecaps-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2025/12/ken-sim-vancouver-whitecaps-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://images-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com/uploads/2025/12/ken-sim-vancouver-whitecaps-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" />Rob Williams/Daily Hive</div>
&#8220;I want to be very clear. Yes, there are interested parties that would like to buy the Whitecaps, [but there are also] interested parties <a href="https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/six-groups-interested-moving-whitecaps-another-city" target="_blank">who want to take the Whitecaps out of the City of Vancouver</a>,&#8221; Sim said. &#8220;If there&#8217;s no opportunity to have your own stadium&#8230; there is no viable option for anyone who wants to keep the Whitecaps in the City of Vancouver.&#8221;
&#8220;Let&#8217;s just call it what it is, there&#8217;s probably absolutely no path for the Vancouver Whitecaps to remain in Vancouver without this MOU.&#8221;
The Whitecaps are still negotiating their lease at BC Place, which will be their home for multiple years should they remain in Vancouver. The club is looking for a larger percentage of revenue on things like food and drinks purchased at concession stands.
While Schuster noted that the Whitecaps &#8220;don&#8217;t negotiate in public,&#8221; Sim seemingly had no concern applying pressure to the provincial government.
&#8220;Axel can&#8217;t say this, but I can&#8230; The City of Vancouver, we&#8217;ve done our part. We&#8217;ve been very clear that we&#8217;ll do whatever is possible to make sure that the Whitecaps have a future in the City of Vancouver&#8230; It&#8217;s probably going to take 4+ years. And so where do the Whitecaps play during that time? It should be at BC Place.
&#8220;When you look at the economics of BC Place&#8230; We&#8217;re asking the provincial government to step up, get a deal done with the Vancouver Whitecaps and look at the long term&#8230; the economics just don&#8217;t work.&#8221;
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Vancouver

It was a day of hope for the Vancouver Whitecaps, who now have the go-ahead to put together a plan to build a new stadium at Hastings Park. 