A special committee of MLS owners “met earlier this month to discuss and evaluate the future” of the Whitecaps, “including the possibility of relocation,” according to sources cited by Tenorio & Bogert of THE ATHLETIC. The sources said that a “move to Las Vegas was the chief option discussed at the meeting” and MLS has “had discussions with a group looking to bring a team to the market.” The sources said that the group of Las Vegas investors behind the $10B Starr Vegas development plan is “not the group that has engaged with MLS.” The sources added that Phoenix is “another top contender for relocation.” Tenorio & Bogert notes the Whitecaps “continue to work on an in-market solution for a new stadium,” as their lease at BC Place expires at the end of this year. The club also “remains up for sale.” But the “longer this plays out with no progress, the threat of relocation looms larger.” As rumors of Vancouver’s future swirl, a fan movement is “beginning to take hold,” with supporters bringing “Save The Caps” signs and banners to matches. A club in MLS has not been formally relocated since 2006, when the Earthquakes were moved from San Jose to Houston and became the Dynamo (THE ATHLETIC, 4/27).
During the CAA World Congress of Sports two weeks ago, MLS Commissioner Don Garber again addressed the stadium situation in Vancouver and confirmed the franchise was a potential target for relocation. Garber: “We’re playing in a publicly run, municipally owned and operated stadium. We have no commercial revenue. We have no food and beverage revenue. We don’t have any sponsors. The sponsors are controlled by an entity that’s called their club services. If we can’t fix Vancouver, we’re going to figure out the right way to move that team. We’ve done everything we can. And I love the Vancouver Whitecaps and I love our owner, but you got to have a good stadium and you got to have a market that’s going to be willing to support you with the commercial needs that you have” (SBJ).
