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VANCOUVER — It's a feeling Vancouver sports fans know all too well. The threat of a beloved team moving out of the country, fleeing to the United States. In 2001, it was the NBA's Vancouver Grizzlies relocating to Memphis. Now, it's the Vancouver Whitecaps being linked with a potential move to Las Vegas.
And it's not as though the Whitecaps are lacking in support. The 52-year-old club is arguably the second most popular sports franchise in the city and has attracted over 20,000 fans for 19 consecutive home matches, with their on-field form placing them near the summit of MLS.
Yet, the absence of a soccer-specific stadium and the team's current home, the provincially owned and crown corporation-operated BC Place, remain the central issues. Under the existing arrangement, the club does not hold primary date rights at the venue and receives only 12% of matchday revenues. As a result, CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster says they face a $40 million shortfall compared to the average MLS club.
At its core, the problem is that costs have soared in MLS since the Whitecaps were awarded an expansion franchise in 2009, while revenues have stayed relatively stagnant. Few MLS clubs are believed to be profitable or breaking even, despite their high valuations.
Las Vegas Offer Sparks Concern
On Thursday, reports surfaced that Grant Gustavson, son of Kentucky billionaire Tamara Gustavson, had submitted a formal offer, with the family having built its wealth through founding and running Public Storage. His plan would be to relocate the club to Las Vegas and construct a soccer-specific stadium.
While those reports put a name to the offer, the Whitecaps had already been connected to Las Vegas beforehand, and relocation had been a topic of discussion since December 2024, when the club's current ownership group — including Jeff Mallett, Greg Kerfoot and NBA legend Steve Nash — announced it was exploring a sale.
The Whitecaps and MLS continue to pursue solutions in Vancouver, but the window to find one is narrowing — and offers are now on the table. Any sale and relocation would need to pass a vote of the MLS Board of Governors to be made official.
As of Thursday, which was marked by over 1,600 international delegates attending the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, representatives of the Province of British Columbia and City of Vancouver stated that the Whitecaps and MLS had yet to specify what would be needed for the club to remain in the market.
MLS Commissioner Meets Local Leaders
MLS Commissioner Don Garber met with British Columbia Premier David Eby on both Wednesday and Thursday, and was also seated near Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim during the four-hour FIFA meeting. However, Garber did not speak to the media on Thursday, choosing to walk past reporters calling out for comment.
The Congress came just hours after a post from Garber's X (formerly Twitter) account read, "Liar liar pants on fire," beneath a video of Eby expressing support for the Whitecaps staying in Vancouver. MLS and Garber subsequently claimed his account had been "compromised."
"Major League Soccer remains focused on working with the Whitecaps and local stakeholders to determine whether a sustainable long-term path for the club can be achieved," MLS spokesperson Dan Courtemanche said in a statement Thursday.
"While in Vancouver for the FIFA Congress, Commissioner Don Garber met yesterday with Premier of British Columbia David Eby. He also had the opportunity to speak with Premier Eby, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, British Columbia Deputy Minister of Tourism Silas Brownsey, and PavCo President and CEO Rehana Din during the Congress.
"Those conversations were constructive, and we appreciate the time and engagement from local leadership. MLS and club representatives will continue discussions in the days ahead, and league leadership plans to return to Vancouver in the coming weeks for additional meetings."
A statement from Whitecaps' Schuster further noted that the club continues to seek solutions in Vancouver, but that no further comments would be made at this time.
B.C. Jobs and Economic Growth Minister Ravi Kahlon, who is overseeing the Whitecaps file, also weighed in Thursday: "I'm hoping that that meeting and that dialogue from that meeting was genuine ... if they have already made a decision to move the team, I'd rather they just tell us and not have everybody go through the anxiety of trying to figure out what we can do."
Fan Protests Intensify
A group of Vancouver Whitecaps supporters are making their #savethecaps message heard to FIFA representatives from around the world this morning. pic.twitter.com/itu7LqMeS7
While news of the official Vegas offer broke midway through the FIFA Congress, Whitecaps supporters had already made their presence felt through an escalating Save The Caps campaign, with many chanting and displaying banners as FIFA's top decision-makers entered the Vancouver Convention Centre.
The Save The Caps campaign drew inspiration from the Save The Crew movement in 2018, which earned widespread local and international backing, while relying on Ohio legislation to keep the Columbus Crew in the market after then-owner Anthony Precourt had set his sights on a move to Austin.
In that case, the legislation proved crucial — no comparable laws exist in British Columbia — but the public backlash also carried significant weight. Precourt was ultimately granted an MLS expansion franchise, now known as Austin FC, while the Columbus-based Haslam Family stepped in to rescue the Crew in the final days.
#SaveTheCaps pic.twitter.com/YII1FjfWVW
The Save The Caps campaign is off to a comparable start. Spearheaded by the Vancouver Southsiders at a recent Whitecaps victory over the Colorado Rapids, Save The Caps posters have appeared across several MLS, USL and Canadian Premier League clubs. That momentum is expected to build over the coming weeks.
Rival players and coaches have also spoken up, with Seattle Sounders manager Brian Schmetzer saying "it would be sad" if the storied Canadian club were to relocate, while Portland Timbers goalkeeper James Pantemis noted that "the rivalry means a lot," and "you want to beat them, but you want them to stay."
Local Interest 'Reached Out,' Says Mayor
Despite the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Whitecaps, Mayor Sim revealed during a brief media availability with local press at the FIFA Congress that "a lot of groups have reached out in the 48 hours" following the initial relocation reports on Monday, while cautioning "I don't want to give anyone false hope, because we do have a hill to climb."
The Whitecaps had previously encouraged local groups that could envision a viable future for the team in the market to come forward, and noted that over 100 groups had previously examined the club and concluded that a deal was not feasible for them.
Sim, meanwhile, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Whitecaps in December to begin exploring a potential soccer stadium at Hastings Park, an area outside of downtown previously used for horse racing. Nevertheless, any stadium would remain a costly ambition for new ownership, leaving Sim with lingering concerns.
"I think we should all be concerned, and that's from well before Vegas entered the picture," he added. "We've been concerned, and we've been working on this for over a year. We can't control what other groups that have an interest in our team, what they do. All we can do is control our own destiny."
Through it all, the Whitecaps continue to thrive on the pitch, with USMNT World Cup hopefuls Brian White and Sebastian Berhalter alongside German icon Thomas Müller, as they set off on an eight-game road trip while the FIFA World Cup takes over BC Place through Aug. 1.