VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — An investment group has come forward to buy the Vancouver Whitecaps and move the Major League Soccer club to Las Vegas.
The group is led by Grant Gustafson, grandson of Public Storage founder B. Wayne Hughes. The Whitecaps had been up for sale 16 months ago, but no potential buyers had publicly emerged until Thursday.
“We look forward to the opportunity to share more in the coming weeks and months, but out of respect for the league’s deliberations and our community stakeholders, we will refrain from sharing the details of the proposal,” Gustafson said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to work towards a positive outcome for the game, our fans, the league and Las Vegas.”
Gustafsson said the investment group will personally fund the team’s acquisition and relocation deal, which “has nothing to do with the recently announced Las Vegas arena initiative.”
Major League Soccer said it would “consider all options” regarding the Whitecaps’ future, including the possibility of transfer. The team is currently playing at BC Place, which will host seven World Cup matches this summer. However, the league says the stadium’s lease situation is unsustainable and that a soccer-only stadium would be better for the team.
“We’re reaching a crisis point,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said Tuesday in a meeting with Associated Press sports editors in New York.
Gerber cited strict scheduling restrictions imposed by the government agency that owns and operates the building and the inability to add premium seating.
The British Columbia government announced Tuesday that the team is working with the Whitecaps to reduce costs and generate more revenue at BC Place, but says it has no intention of buying the team to prevent a move to the city.
The team’s supporters attended Thursday’s FIFA meeting in Vancouver, many waving placards that read “Save the Caps.” Posters with these words were posted all over downtown.
B.C.’s Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth Ravi Kahlon said teams are currently using the stadium for free, and the vacation they got this year could be extended for another year.
“I think we should all be concerned,” Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said after the meeting at the Vancouver Convention Center. “And it worked even before Las Vegas came along. We were concerned. We’ve been working on this for over a year. We can’t control what other groups that are interested in our team do, what they do. All we can do is control our destiny.”
Sim added that the city has identified locations where a new owner can build a stadium and entertainment district without using tax dollars. The next step will be bridging agreements with states.
The Whitecaps and the provincial government, which owns BC Place through the province’s Crown corporation PavCo, signed a one-year lease earlier this year, under which the approximately $1 million to $1.5 million the province earns from hosting the event will be returned to the club each year.
Garber expressed hope the Whitecaps can find a way to remain in Vancouver, and said expansion to Las Vegas is also a possibility. Las Vegas isn’t necessarily the only city being discussed.
in Statement earlier this weekThe Whitecaps said: “We have held serious discussions with over 100 interested parties and to date have not received any viable offers to keep the club here.”
“Clubs face well-documented structural challenges, including stadium economics, venue access, and revenue constraints, which make it difficult to attract buyers keen to keep the team in Vancouver.”
Franchise fees that cost tens of millions of dollars to enter MLS 15 years ago are now worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In May 2023, a $500 million expansion was paid to ensure safety. San Diego’s 30th team in the league.
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