Workers at BC Place will be eligible to walk off the job Friday night, and the union that represents maintenance and security employees is not ruling out a Grey Cup picket line.
The B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union local 1703 issued a 72-hour strike notice Tuesday, but has promised not to picket Saturday's Whitecaps game.
BCGEU spokeswoman Karen Tankard says the union chose not to walk out as a gesture of good faith.
"We hope in this gesture of goodwill that PAVCO will come back to the bargaining table," she told CTV News, but added that the strategy hasn't yet paid off.
The union now has 90 days to take action, which means workers could walk out and shut down the stadium for the season's remaining BC Lions games and the Grey Cup on Nov. 27.
Tankard says that strike action during the championship football game isn't out of the question.
"This is a fluid situation that could change in hours or days. We still have more than a month until Grey Cup and we haven't ruled anything in or out," she said.
Talks have broken down between the union and employers at BC Pavilion Corporation, and a mediator was unable to find a solution.
Sports business commentator Tom Mayenknecht says that shutting down the Grey Cup would be a bold but unpopular move.
"That would be a national PR nightmare, in my opinion, for the BCGEU to put the Grey Cup in jeopardy," he said.
But he added that it's possible the union could decide to take the risk.
"You never say never in this business, and certainly I do not want to dismiss the fact that there's no deal in place. As long as there's no deal in place, there's no certainty," he said.
The Grey Cup Committee isn't saying much about the dispute, issuing a statement that reads: "Our president is up to date on negotiations and we look forward to a positive outcome."
PAVCO will only say that it stands by an earlier statement stating that it has already agreed to many of the union's demands.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's St. John Alexander
