Upper bowl of BC Place to open for Vancouver Whitecaps-LAFC playoff game
Posted November 1, 2023 8:41 am.
Last Updated November 1, 2023 8:44 am.
The Vancouver Whitecaps say, for the first time in the team’s MLS history, the upper bowl will be open at BC Place Sunday.
The club is set to host defending MLS Cup champions Los Angeles FC on Nov. 5 at 4:30 p.m. for its second playoff match.
The Whitecaps say this is the “biggest match” and that “the biggest crowd in our MLS history” is expected.
“Our supporters have shown up,” said Axel Schuster, Whitecaps FC chief executive officer. “We’ve built a real rivalry with LAFC this season. Now we are back at BC Place and we are ready to make history.”
Whitecaps look for win after falling to LAFC in playoff opener
Schuster says the first match showed “what kind of series this is.” While entertaining for fans, he notes it is “an incredible challenge against a team who are defending champions for a reason.”
“We believe in our group to even this series up, and we will need every last person in that stadium to be loud and to bring their energy to help us continue what has been a very exciting and successful season so far,” the CEO said in a statement Wednesday.
“We want as many people as possible to experience this day, so we encourage anyone who wants to be at the match to get their tickets as soon as possible.”
This will be the second game between the Whitecaps and LAFC in their best-of-three series.
LA defeated Vancouver 5-2 in the playoff opener on Saturday, Oct. 28.
It was the first time the two clubs matched up in the post-season. Vancouver beat LAFC on the road for the first time with a 3-2 victory on June 24. LAFC had gone 4-0-3 in its first seven matchups at home with the Whitecaps, scoring at least three goals in all four wins.
The Whitecaps say its “biggest warmup pre-match party yet” will be held at Terry Fox Plaza Sunday, “rain or shine.”
The winner of the Whitecaps-LAFC series will go on to play either Seattle Sounders FC or FC Dallas in the Western Conference Semifinals on Nov. 25 or Nov. 26.
The Conference Finals are set to take place in December.
-With files from The Associated Press
