The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade has issued an open letter calling on businesses to help keep the Vancouver Whitecaps from moving out of the city.
The organization says hundreds of businesses have signed on, pledging to explore sponsorships, partnerships and ticket programs aimed at addressing the Major League Soccer club’s revenue challenges.
The Whitecaps have been up for sale since December 2024, and an investor group recently submitted a bid to MLS seeking to buy the club and move it to Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas bid is led by businessman Grant Gustavson and includes plans for a privately financed soccer-specific stadium in Nevada. Gustavson is the grandson of Public Storage co-founder B. Wayne Hughes and the son of billionaire investor Tamara Gustavson.
The club has cited revenue limitations at the provincially owned B.C. Place Stadium as a hurdle in attracting a local buyer.
“For more than 50 years, the Vancouver Whitecaps have been a pillar of our community, and the business community is sending a clear message: we want them to stay,” said Bridgitte Anderson, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.
Premier David Eby is scheduled to meet this week with representatives from the Whitecaps, MLS, the City of Vancouver and local First Nations to discuss keeping the team in Vancouver.
Eby said Tuesday he does not believe a decision has already been made to relocate the Whitecaps to Las Vegas.
“If this is already decided, if the fix is in and it's going to Vegas, then just be clear with us,” he said.
“But if not, then this table is a reflection of our willingness to bring together those key partners to be creative and to find that solution."
B.C. Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon said last week that a local ownership group had approached the province about a possible bid for the club and appeared serious about keeping the team in Vancouver.
Whitecaps CEO Axel Schuster has said more than 30 potential buyers have reviewed the club’s books since the team was put up for sale, but none have been interested in operating the franchise in Vancouver under the current business model.
The board of trade says the soccer club brings hundreds of thousands of fans downtown each season and generates tens of millions of dollars in economic activity for local businesses, supporting the hospitality, retail and tourism sectors.
The uncertainty around the Whitecaps comes weeks before Vancouver is set to host seven FIFA World Cup matches at B.C. Place next month.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
