13
JUN
GROUP A · MD1★ Canada's home opener
🇨🇦Canadavs🇰🇷Korea Rep.
Canada's WC home opener · Vancouver delivers
16:00 PT23:00 GMT
54,500
Capacity (WC config)
7
WC 2026 matches
1983
Opened · renovated 2011
Grass
Surface · converted for WC
DT
Downtown Vancouver
02 · The Soul
Vancouver's bowl, the Olympic Closing.
Opened in 1983 as North America's largest air-supported dome. The roof retracts now · the 2011 renovation rebuilt the canopy with a cable-supported design.
Hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremonies · the BC Lions and Vancouver Whitecaps split it year-round.
The slate: seven WC matches including a knockout. The cleanest Pacific Coast venue and the only Canadian host outside Toronto.
03 · The Fixtures · 7 matches
Every game played here.
Canada plays here · group + R32 slate.
17
JUN
GROUP J · MD1
🇨🇷Costa Ricavs🇦🇺Australia
Concacaf-Oceania crossover · group opener
13:00 PT20:00 GMT
21
JUN
GROUP F · MD2
🇳🇱Netherlandsvs🇸🇪Sweden
European matchup · Oranje's knockout positioning
15:00 PT22:00 GMT
24
JUN
GROUP I · MD3
🇮🇷Iranvs🇳🇴Norway
Group decider · Haaland's knockout test
17:00 PT00:00 GMT (25th)
02
JUL
ROUND OF 32
Group A 1stvsGroup B 3rd
Canada's likely R32 venue · single elimination
13:00 PT20:00 GMT
04 · The Map
Pinned.
Downtown Vancouver · the Yaletown neighbourhood, Rogers Arena, the SkyTrain all walkable.
🏆BC Place
—Stadium · Downtown Vancouver
2026 WC venue · 54,500 capacity, retractable roof.
🎉Rogers Arena
0.2 miFan zones · Downtown Vancouver
Canucks arena next door · WC fan-festival overflow.
🚆Stadium-Chinatown SkyTrain
0.2 miTransit · Downtown Vancouver
SkyTrain · runs to airport in 25 min · the cleanest WC transit in Canada.
🛏Pan Pacific Vancouver
0.7 miHotels · Coal Harbour
Closest premium hotel · walking distance to gate via Yaletown.
🍽Granville Island Public Market
1.3 miRestaurants · False Creek
Vancouver's famous public market · pre-match food halls · seafood.
🌳Stanley Park
2 miParks · West End
The 1,000-acre downtown park · WC fan-festival anchor location.
✈Vancouver International (YVR)
9 miAirports · Richmond
The airport · 25-min SkyTrain direct to Stadium-Chinatown station.
06 · Getting There
Three ways in.
Vancouver is a SkyTrain town · the airport line runs to the gate. Cleanest WC transit on the West Coast.
🚆 From YVR airport
SkyTrain Canada Line
25 mindoor to gate
CAD $9one-way
6 minfrequency
1
Board SkyTrain Canada Line at YVR.
2
Transfer at Waterfront to Expo Line.
3
One stop to Stadium-Chinatown.
🚶 From downtown hotels
Walk · 10-15 min
10 minfrom Yaletown
Freewalking
Flatterrain
1
Most downtown Vancouver hotels are within a 15-min walk.
2
Follow Pacific Blvd or Beatty St.
3
Walking is the locals' default.
🚗 From the suburbs
Hwy 1 + Granville Bridge
40 minoff-peak
CAD $40parking nearby
4 lotsevent-day
1
Highway 1 → Granville Bridge.
2
Pacific Blvd to stadium.
3
Parking is limited · use SkyTrain park-and-ride if possible.
07 · The Pitch & the Stands
The Olympic bowl, football-spec pitch.
The Whitecaps play on the converted FieldTurf year-round · WC 2026 swaps to natural grass three weeks before kickoff. Same playbook as MetLife.
Field specifications
// FIFA-spec for WC 2026
SurfaceNatural grass · Kentucky Bluegrass
SourceLower Mainland turf farm
Dimensions105m × 68m
RoofRetractable · cable-supported
LightingLED · 2,500 lux
Pitch installed3 weeks before opener
After WCReverts to FieldTurf
LowerClubUpperVIP
08 · The History
Before it was a World Cup venue.
Opened in 1983. The biggest moments before WC 2026, in reverse.
2026
🏆 FIFA World Cup · 7 matches
Canada\'s western WC.
Seven matches including a knockout. Canada's home opener kicks off here.
2015
⚽ FIFA Women's WC Final · USA 5-2 Japan
Carli Lloyd's hat-trick.
One of the most-watched soccer matches in US history · Lloyd's 16-minute hat-trick on the WC final stage.
2011
🏗 Roof renovation · cable-supported retractable
The roof gets rebuilt.
The original air-supported roof was replaced with a cable-supported retractable design · CAD $563M renovation.
2010
🏅 Winter Olympics · opening & closing ceremonies
The 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
BC Place opened and closed the Vancouver Games. Sidney Crosby's golden goal · Wayne Gretzky lit the cauldron.
1983
🏟 Opening · BC Lions vs Hamilton
North America's largest dome opens.
First CFL game · the original air-supported roof was an engineering signature for its decade.
★ The deepest line on this file
The R32.
Thursday · 2 July 2026 · 13:00 PT
29
Days
06
Hours
33
Minutes
55
Seconds
Canada's likely R32 venue · the western Canadian knockout night.
09 · Stadium trivia
Four facts for Granville Island.
For the seafood line.
Opened and closed the 2010 Olympics
The only WC 2026 venue that also hosted an Olympic opening ceremony. Wayne Gretzky lit the cauldron · Sidney Crosby won gold.
Was the largest air-supported dome
North America\'s largest air-supported roof until 2011. Replaced with the cable-supported retractable design currently in place.
Women's WC Final hosted here
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final · USA 5-2 Japan · Carli Lloyd hat-trick · 53,341 in attendance.
SkyTrain direct from YVR
25-min one-train ride from the airport · the cleanest international-arrival to WC venue in Canada.
The deepest truth in the file
Seven matches.The Olympic opening bowl.Canada's western WC kicks off here.
Host venue2026 R3254,500 capacity2010 OlympicsPacific Canada