VANCOUVER — The head of Major League Soccer has long believed Vancouver has what it takes to be a premier soccer market.

Now, as the Vancouver Whitecaps reach new highs on the field, league commissioner Don Garber is coming to the city to lobby for change.

“My trip isn’t just to celebrate all the great things that have been going on over the years,” he said in a phone interview. “It’s to help make sure that success is sustainable long term.”

Garber will be speaking with business leaders and public officials during the trip, and high on his list of talking points will be the Whitecaps’ stadium deal.

The club currently plays its home games at B.C. Place, a 55,000-seat venue in Vancouver’s downtown core.

Opened in 1983, the stadium is owned by PavCo, a provincial Crown corporation that l

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