Vancouver Whitecaps Soccer

The Vancouver Whitecaps are a Major League Soccer team that usually plays home games during the regular season from March to October at BC Place Stadium.

This article contains the following information about the Vancouver Whitecaps:

Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club

The Vancouver Whitecaps is an MLS soccer team. During normal seasons, the team plays home games at BC Place Stadium at 777 Pacific Boulevard in downtown Vancouver.

The Whitecaps has 17 home games in MLS play each season. The soccer team can also have additional matches in other competitions. This includes the Canadian Championship which is an annual tournament of 13 teams from across the country.

There is also the CONCACAF Champions League which is an annual tournament of 16 teams from across North America, Central America and the Caribbean. As well, new as of 2023 is the Leagues Cup tournament which features all teams from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.

2024 Home Game Schedule

Below are the scheduled MLS regular season home games for 2024. All are held at BC Place Stadium. Unless listed otherwise, all games are part of the MLS regular season.

For the full broadcast schedule including both these and road games, see the Vancouver Whitecaps‘ website. (Note: Times, dates and other game details are subject to change.)

Spring & Winter Games

March 2nd, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Charlotte FC. (Time TBC)
March 23rd, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Real Salt Lake. (Time TBC)
March 30th, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Portland Timbers. (Time TBC)
April 6th, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Toronto FC. (Time TBC)
April 13th, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. LA Galaxy. (Time TBC)
May 4th, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Austin FC. (Time TBC)
May 25th, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Inter Miami CF. (Time TBC)

Summer Games

June 1st, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Colorado Rapids. (Time TBC)
June 29th, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. St. Louis City SC. (Time TBC)
July 17th, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Sporting Kansas City. (Time TBC)
July 20th, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Houston Dynamo FC. (Time TBC)
August 24th, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Los Angeles FC. (Time TBC)

Autumn Games

September 7th, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. FC Dallas. (Time TBC)
September 14th, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. San Jose Earthquakes. (Time TBC)
September 28th, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Portland Timbers. (Time TBC)
October 2nd, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Seattle Sounders FC at 7:30 pm.
October 5th, 2024 – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Minnesota United FC. (Time TBC)

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Whitecaps Tickets

Single game tickets for Whitecaps soccer home games usually start at about $30. Season tickets start at around $50 per month most years.

Season Tickets

BC Place Whitecaps Seating Map

The price for season tickets for Whitecaps home games depends on where you sit. BC Place Stadium is divided into sections. Below is a list of prices for the 2024 season.

White – $400+
Teal – $400+
Yellow – $579+
Blue – $885+
Purple – $1,063+
Pink – $321+
Orange – $1,700+

In addition to being able to watch all the games, benefits of season tickets include 15% off VWFC gear, pre-sale access to other BC Place events and invites to member-only events. (Note: Exact details may vary.)

Whitecaps Fan Groups

The Vancouver Whitecaps has six official supporter groups, including the Southsiders.

The Southsiders is known to be the largest and loudest of the supporter groups. This group typically takes over the southeast corner of BC Place Stadium (in sections 249-254).

Southsiders usually meets for pre-game drinks at Dublin Calling which is a pub on Granville Street not far from BC Place Stadium. After its ritual of pre-game beverages, the Southsiders then marches en masse to the game.

Vancouver Whitecaps Team History

Below is the history of Vancouver’s professional soccer team. The first section details the history of the team prior to the year 2000. The second has information about the team since then.

The Soccer Team from 1974 to 2000

Founded in 1974, the Whitecaps played in the North American Soccer League until the league folded in 1984. In 1979 the team won the NASL Championship, the first major North American sports championship for the city in over 60 years. Around 100,000 people attended the championship parade on Robson Street.

When the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) formed in 1986 a new franchise in Vancouver was created. It was named the Vancouver 86ers because of the year the club was founded, the year Canada first qualified for the World Cup (1986), and the year Vancouver became a city (1886). It was also the year of the 1986 World’s Fair, or Expo ’86.

In 1986, its first year with its new name, the team moved from playing at BC Place Stadium (which had opened in 1983) to Swangard Stadium in Burnaby.

The 86ers won four straight CSL championships from 1988 to 1991. During those years the team broke the Canadian pro sports record for the longest undefeated streak (46 games). When the CSL folded in 1992 the 86ers moved to the American Professional Soccer League (or APSL which was later renamed the USL). The team then remained in that league until its move to MLS in 2011.

The Soccer Team Since 2000

In 2000 the 86ers changed its name back to the Whitecaps. The team won the USL Championship twice, in 2006 and 2008.

In 2009 it was announced that the Whitecaps would join the MLS as an expansion team in 2011, along with Portland. The Whitecaps played most of its first season with the new league in the temporary stadium, Empire Field, which stood at the site of the Pacific National Exhibition. In the fall of 2011 the Whitecaps moved back to BC Place Stadium where the team has played ever since.

In the Whitecaps’ MLS history, the team’s best season was in 2015 where it finished second in the Western Conference standings and won the Canadian Championship. That meant the Whitecaps qualified for the 2016 CONCACAF Champions League where the team reached the semifinals (its best finish in that competition).

The Whitecaps won back-to-back Canadian Championships for the first time in its history in 2022 and 2023. This was the first time a team won the trophy in two straight seasons since 2018. In its inaugural appearance in the League Cup in 2023 the Whitecaps made it to the knockout stage where the team was eliminated in the Round of 32.

Other Information

The Vancouver Whitecaps is one of several professional sports teams in the Lower Mainland.

Check out the Vancouver Whitecaps‘ website for more information about the soccer team, or click BC Place Stadium for details about their home game venue.

To learn more about other professional sports teams in Metro Vancouver, check out the following: