BC Place BC Place is a multi - purpose stadium located at the north side of False Creek , in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada . It is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation ( PavCo ) , a crown corporation of the province . When originally opened on June 19 , 1983 , it was the world ' s largest air - supported roof . In 2010 the stadium closed for a major renovation and reconfiguration . It reopened on September 30 , 2011 as the world ' s largest cable supported retractable roof stadium . It is the home field for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League ( CFL ) and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer ( MLS ) . It was the Olympic Stadium during the 2010 Winter Olympic and 2010 Paralympics and has hosted the CFL Grey Cup eight times . The BC Sports Hall of Fame is located within the stadium . History . Construction of the stadium started in 1981 and was completed in 1983 . BC Place was built as part of the preparations for the 1986 World ' s Fair , Expo 86 . The stadium was the world ' s largest air - supported domed stadium until May 4 , 2010 when it was deflated for the last time in preparation for the erection of its new retractable roof . Its original air - supported design was similar to the Hubert H . Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis , Minnesota which is currently home to the Minnesota Vikings National Football League team . Highlights of stadium events . The first major event held in the stadium was on September 18 , 1984 when Pope John Paul II addressed an over - capacity crowd for " A Celebration of Life " , The celebration was part of the papal visit to the Archdiocese of Vancouver . It was one of the most heavily attended events in the stadium . The Pope ' s Celebration of Life was followed a few months later by the Canadian Pacific Billy Graham Crusade , which drew similar numbers each night . The stadium was then used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication ( Expo ' 86 ) . Accepting an invitation by the Province of British Columbia , their Royal Highnesses Prince Charles and Princess Diana made themselves available to take part in the opening ceremonies . To great fanfare , they officially proclaimed the World ' s Fair open on May 2 , 1986 . The opening and closing ceremonies of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the opening ceremonies of the X Paralympic Winter Games were also held in BC Place Stadium in February and March 2010 , respectively . The stadium was the first air - supported structure and 24th venue to host the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics . The 2012 CONCACAF Women ' s Olympic Qualifying Tournament final between the United States and Canada played at the stadium was the highest attendance for a women ' s CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying game with 25 , 427 people in attendance . 2007 roof deflation . On January 5 , 2007 , a tear occurred in the roof ' s ETFE fabric close to Gate G on the south side where the roof meets the top of the concrete bowl . The tear grew quickly as air escaped through it , whereupon maintenance staff performed an intentional , controlled deflation to protect the integrity of the roof ' s intact fabric panels . As it was designed to do , the deflated roof rested on its steel support cables 6 metres ( 20 ft ) above the seating and the field . Normally , the roof had a rise of 27 metres ( 90 ft ) above the top of the bowl when inflated . No one was injured during the incident , although rain and melted snow flooded the bowl and subsequently had to be pumped out . An independent report indicated that an accidental rapid pressurization combined with lightly gusting wind and a location of previously undetected damage caused the tear . The damaged panel was replaced with a temporary one on January 19 and the roof was re - inflated . The BC Contractors Association held an exhibition in the stadium over the week of January 23 , during which the roof leaked in several places when it rained . The temporary panel was successfully replaced with a permanent one in June 2007 , prior to the start of the BC Lions 2007 season . Sports teams . Currently , BC Place ' s main sports tenants are the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League ( CFL ) and Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer ( MLS ) . The stadium was also home of the Vancouver Whitecaps of the North American Soccer League ( NASL ) during the early 1980s . The last NASL Soccer Bowl was also held at BC Place , where the Tulsa Roughnecks defeated the Toronto Blizzard 2 - 0 . The stadium has hosted the CFL ' s championship game , the Grey Cup , eight times : in 1983 , 1986 , 1987 , 1990 , 1994 , 1999 , 2005 , and 2011 . Perhaps the most thrilling game was the 1994 championship in which the hometown BC Lions defeated the U . S . expansion team the Baltimore Football Club on a last - second field goal by Lui Passaglia , preventing the Grey Cup trophy from leaving Canada ( Baltimore would win the Grey Cup the following year ) . The stadium hosted the 99th Grey Cup in 2011 now that the new roof has been finished . The 47th Vanier Cup was the first Canadian university football championship paired with the Grey Cup Festival and played Friday , November 25 , 2011 between the McMaster Marauders and Laval Rouge et Or in front of 24 , 935 . Nicknamed " Best Game . . . Ever " , it is widely regarded as one of the most exciting Canadian Football games of all time with McMaster winning 41 - 38 in double overtime . It was the first championship played in the newly renovated facility . In 1987 , an exhibition match of Australian rules football was played at the stadium and drew a crowd of 32 , 789 a record for the largest AFL / VFL crowd outside of Australia . The Vancouver Nighthawks , a member of the World Basketball League , played the 1988 season at BC Place . A couple of Seattle based professional teams have staged games at BC Place . Prior to the 1994 MLB season , the Seattle Mariners , Colorado Rockies , Toronto Blue Jays , and the Montreal Expos played an exhibition tournament there . The retractable seating sections made room for right field . The stadium also held an NFL exhibition game in 1998 when the San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks 24 - 21 in the American Bowl . Renovation and roof replacement . PavCo , which owns and operates BC Place , is governed primarily by the " British Columbia Enterprise Corporation Act " , which names it an Agent of the government , binds it by the same laws as the government , and gives it the same immunities as the government . On May 16 , 2008 , it was announced that over $ 150 million in major renovations would be carried out on BC Place Stadium . These included seating replacements , washroom and concessions renovations , and replacement of the ETFE roof with a new retractable roof . The work was done in two phases . The first phase involved upgrades to seating , washrooms , concessions , and luxury suites , as well as the reinforcement of the existing ring beam at the top of the building and was completed in October 2009 . Work on the retractable roof began in May 2010 , shortly after the completion of the 2010 Winter Paralympics and the final deflation of the air - supported roof . The official budget for the completed Phase 1 upgrades plus the revitalization project was $ 514 million . The new roof , a cable - supported retractable roof system first used with the Commerzbank - Arena in Frankfurt , Germany , is the largest of its kind . The updated stadium also features the second largest centre - hung high definition scoreboard in North America , after the one in Cowboys Stadium . In addition , a new artificial turf developed by Polytan was installed at an estimated cost of $ 1 . 2 million . It is designed to achieve FIFA 2 - star certification , the highest rating possible . The soccer pitch is . BC Place has been described as one of the most beautiful stadiums in all of North America and the Crown Jewel of the CFL . TSN analyst and former CFL player Chris Schultz praised both the design and engineering of the new stadium . The opening measures , the same size as the field below . The fabric roof retracts into and is hidden by a pod in the centre of the opening , above the suspended videoboard . Notable events . BC Place is busy with over 200 event - days per year including British Columbia ' s largest trade and consumer shows , concerts , community events , and motorsports . In 2005 , BC Place played host to Vans ' Slam City Jam Skateboarding Championships . It has also hosted several MLB preseason games and a handful of Vancouver Canadians Pacific Coast League games . It was the site for a motorcycle stunt scene in the Fantastic Four movie . The stadium annually serves as the finish line for both the Vancouver Sun Run in April and the Vancouver Marathon in May . The food festival , Eat ! Vancouver , takes place annually at BC Place . Michael Jackson performed exclusive Victory Tour concerts with his brothers The Jacksons in BC Place on November 16 , 17 & 18 , 1984 to 42 , 000 spectators each night . Madonna performed in Vancouver for the first time in her career at BC Place during her Sticky & Sweet Tour on October 30 , 2008 . 50 , 000 tickets for the concert were sold in only 29 minutes . Taylor Swift is set to perform at BC Place during her Red Tour with special guest Ed Sheeran on June 29 , 2013 to an audience of nearly 50 , 000 spectators . BC Place will host the 2015 FIFA Women ' s World Cup final game . Transportation . The stadium is served by two SkyTrain stations via the Expo Line and Canada Line : Stadium – Chinatown to the East , and Yaletown – Roundhouse to the West . The False Creek Ferries and Aquabus also serve the stadium , docking at the nearby Edgewater Casino .