Whitecaps CEO on '25-30 little steps' to keep team in Vancouver amid $40M deficit

Could the Vancouver Whitecaps be set to find a new home? 

It's far too early to make such a suggestion, but as Whitecaps CEO, Axel Schuster, said on Thursday, the club has a lot of work to do before they're able to have what they feel is a sustainable, long-term financial model for the club to draw on. 

Speaking to reporters, Schuster revealed that the club's revenues currently lag behind most of their MLS counterparts, with the Whitecaps current figures sitting $40 million CAD behind the revenues of an average club, in his words. While he was unable to reveal whether or not these revenues have led to significant losses for the club, he notes that this lack of revenue has put pressure on the Whitecaps to alter their spending, which has had other effects. 

Namely, the big one, as it stands, is that despite being up for sale, the club's revenue situation has kept away several prospective buyers, even though several different groups have reportedly shown preliminary interest in purchasing stakes in the club - usually, most would withdraw interest once having had a look through the club's financial reports. 

Because of that, the Whitecaps goal remains clear at this stage - they would like to build their own stadium, having signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the city of Vancouver last fall about building such a venue at Hastings Park. By doing so, not only would they significantly upgrade their chances at bringing in revenue, but they'd instantly become more attractive to prospective buyers, too. 

It won't be easy to build such a stadium, as it would require a lot of work from provincial and municipal governments, as well as the Whitecaps, and would come at a great financial cost, but there's no doubt that it could be a pivotal step towards securing the Whitecaps long-term future in Vancouver. 

In the meantime, though, with negotiations for that new stadium still underway, the Whitecaps face a significant hurdle in the short-term - their deal with BC Place. Having expired at the end of 2025, they've been negotiating a new lease with BC Place, which is operated by the BC governmental entity PavCo. 

The good news is that Schuster says both sides are on the verge of announcing a new deal for 2026, thanks to some significant concessions made by PavCo, although Schuster has noted that even with that improved offer, he feels such a deal is not financially viable long-term for the Whitecaps. 

Therefore, it remains to be seen what's next for the club. While a short-term deal at BC Place will leave them secure for the short-term, there are long-term concerns about the revenue the Whitecaps are pulling in from the deal, which is why they want to build their own stadium as soon as possible. 

Even if that gets done, however, the club would still need to work with BC Place in the short term, too, as the club would remain there until a new stadium is built, unless they find an alternative solution. 

What it shows, though, is that while Whitecaps are on the verge of securing a new lease with BC Place, discussions between both parties about their long-term future are far from over, even if the club's biggest priority remains to finalize a stadium project. 

In the meantime, they'll look to find other ways to improve their revenue - Schuster noted that the club needed to take 25-30 little steps to help do that, such as selling the naming rights to BC Place and attracting more corporate sponsors, which will be their big priority in the immediate future.