MLS receives formal bid to relocate Vancouver Whitecaps to Las Vegas

VANCOUVER — An investor group out of Las Vegas isn’t the only party interested in buying the Whitecaps, says Vancouver’s mayor.

“Look, a lot of groups have reached out over the last 48 hours,” Ken Sim said Thursday. “I don’t want to give anyone false hope, because we do have a hill to climb. At the city, we’ve done everything we can to make sure that we set up a future ownership group with a path toward success. Now it’s up to the province to step up.”

His comments came hours after a group led by businessman Grant Gustavson announced it had submitted a bid to Major League Soccer to buy the Whitecaps and relocate the club to Las Vegas.

The group has proposed building a privately financed, soccer-specific stadium in Las Vegas, with no public funding, though details of the site and terms of the offer were not disclosed.

“In the coming weeks and months, we look forward to the opportunity to share more; however, out of respect for the league’s deliberations and community stakeholders, we are refraining from sharing details of our proposal,” Jacqueline Peterson, a spokesperson for the group, said in a statement.

“We look forward to continuing to work for a positive outcome for the game, the fans, the league and Las Vegas.”

Gustavson, 30, is the grandson of Public Storage co-founder B. Wayne Hughes and the son of billionaire Tamara Gustavson, one of the company’s largest shareholders.

Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s minister of jobs and economic growth, said the province is seeking answers from the league.

“We haven’t seen the proposal from Las Vegas at all,” he said. “Our message to the league has been, if you want to expand the league, you can expand it — it doesn’t need to be a team from Vancouver that gets moved to that jurisdiction.”

Kahlon, a Whitecaps season ticket holder, said the government wants the club to remain in Vancouver because the team is an important part of the community.

“We understand that the value has gone from $35 million to close to $500 million, and they see an opportunity to cash in on that,” he said. “But we also believe that the MLS owes it to the fans in Vancouver to do whatever they can to keep the team here.”

The minister said the league has stepped in to prevent other teams from leaving their cities, and the same could happen in Vancouver.

Multiple groups are believed to be exploring relocation options as MLS reviews the Whitecaps’ future.

The club has been up for sale since 2024, with ownership citing ongoing challenges tied to stadium control and revenue at its home stadium, B.C. Place, which is owned and operated by the province.

“Over the past 16 months, we have had serious conversations with more than 100 parties, and to date, no viable offer has emerged that would keep the club here,” the Whitecaps said in a statement on Monday.

“It remains the strong preference of this ownership group to find a solution in Vancouver. If there is a local ownership group with the vision and resources to chart a path forward, we urge them to come forward.”

Sim said he spoke about the situation with MLS commissioner Don Garber at the 76th annual FIFA Congress in Vancouver on Thursday.

“You have a commissioner that wants to see football or soccer succeed in the city of Vancouver, and so I think that’s very promising,” the mayor said. “And at the end of the day, the economics have to work for whoever the future owner is.

“We know in Vancouver, we have a deep love for the Whitecaps. It’s part of our history, it’s part of our heritage. The fans have stepped up. … So we know the market can support the team. It’s just that they have a stadium deal right now that doesn’t really work, and so we’re working through that.”

The City of Vancouver signed an memorandum of understanding with the Whitecaps in December that allows the club to explore building a new stadium and entertainment district in the city’s east end.

B.C. Premier David Eby met with Garber on Wednesday, and described the talks on the team’s future as “constructive.”

The premier released a video Wednesday night saying the province is “at the table fighting hard” to keep the team in Vancouver.

“We have the World Cup coming, we are a world-class football town — losing the Whitecaps is not an option,” he said.

“I saw the shots of the fans out at the rally to save the Whitecaps. We are on the same side; we will fight hard to save our team.”

Hours later, a now-deleted post from Garber’s X account replied: “Liar, liar pants on fire.”

A league spokesperson later said the commissioner’s account was compromised.

The province has offered the Whitecaps financial concessions at B.C. Place, but has ruled out buying the team.

Following his meeting with Garber, Eby told reporters the province would not transfer control of the provincially owned stadium to the Whitecaps to stabilize the club’s finances, and added that the team has shown no interest in that option.

The premier said he planned to meet with the MLS commissioner again.

Garber is in Vancouver for FIFA Congress events but declined to speak with media after Thursday’s meeting.

A league spokesman said that in addition to meeting with Eby, the commissioner spoke with Sim, B.C.’s deputy minister of tourism Silas Brownsey and Rehana Din, president of PavCo, the provincial Crown corporation that owns and operates B.C. Place.

“Those conversations were constructive, and we appreciate the time and engagement from local leadership,” Dan Courtemanche said in a statement. “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.”

About three dozen Whitecaps fans gathered Thursday outside the Vancouver Convention Centre, where the FIFA Congress is being held, greeting arriving soccer dignitaries with a protest amid uncertainty over the club’s future.

Fans held “Save the Caps” signs and sang club chants.

The demonstration comes as a campaign to keep the team in the city continues online, with a petition on savethecaps.com drawing 8,550 signatures as of Thursday morning.

Hundreds of people marched to B.C. Place behind a giant banner reading “Save the Caps” ahead of Vancouver’s game against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.

Inside, more than 2,000 fans held paper signs — provided by the team’s supporters groups — with the same message as players walked out onto the field.

Others brought their own visual messages of support, including a giant banner reading “We will fight for our club and we will win” next to an image of a fist.

A sold-out crowd of 27,589 people watched the game, marking the 19th-straight MLS match where the ‘Caps have drawn a crowd of at least 20,000 fans.

Canada’s secretary of sport has joined the campaign, too.

“I’ve got a sticker on my coffee mug that says ‘Save the Caps,'” said Adam van Koeverden, who was in Vancouver for the FIFA Congress.

“I believe in the power of professional sport. It creates jobs and inspires people and maintains these amazing opportunities for families and young people and fans to engage, which I think is really important. We want the ‘Caps to stay, but we know it’s a big business.”

— With files from Wolfgang Depner in Victoria.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press