World Cup host Vancouver is at risk of losing its Major League Soccer club to another city.
MLS said late Monday it “will evaluate all options” for the future of the Vancouver Whitecaps, including moving out of the city. The club was put on sale 16 months ago by an ownership group that includes former NBA star Steve Nash.
Uncertainty around the team is fueled by limited revenue options and a short-term lease at BC Place stadium that will host seven World Cup games in June and July, including Canada playing Qatar and Switzerland.
“It’s reaching a critical point,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Tuesday during a meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors in New York.
Garber called the situation at BC Place untenable, citing strict schedule restrictions from the government entity that owns and operates the building and an inability to add premium seating.
British Columbia’s government said Tuesday it is working with the Whitecaps to help the team lower costs and generate more revenue at BC Place — but it won’t be buying the team to prevent it from moving cities.
Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s minister of jobs and economic growth, said the team is now using the stadium at no cost, and any breaks that the team received this year could be extended for another year.
The Whitecaps and the provincial government — which owns BC Place through the provincial Crown corporation PavCo — signed a one-year lease earlier this year, which annually returns to the club about $1 million to 1.5 million that the province makes from hosting.
Kahlon, a longtime season-ticket holder, says the province has also helped the team generate more revenue from concession sales and advertising, adding that the province is open to exploring other revenue sources.
“If there are some genuine things that they need done to keep the team here, we want to see that happen,” he said.
Garber confirmed reports that Las Vegas could be an option if Vancouver relocates, saying a group from Las Vegas had submitted an application for an MLS team. He expressed hope the Whitecaps could find a way to remain in Vancouver and said expansion to Las Vegas could also be a possibility, but no decisions had been made. Las Vegas was not necessarily the only city being discussed.
FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani, who is from Vancouver, said last year losing an MLS club “on the back of the World Cup would be a capital crime, in my opinion.”
Fans holding “Save The Caps” placards protested on Saturday at the team’s last home game ahead of the stadium being taken over for the World Cup. The attendance was more than 27,000.
In a statement late Monday, the Whitecaps said it had “serious conversations with more than 100 parties and, to date, no viable offer has emerged that would keep the club here.”
“The club has faced well-documented structural challenges around stadium economics, venue access, and revenue limitations that have made it difficult to attract buyers committed to keeping the team in Vancouver.”
A franchise fee that cost tens of millions of dollars to enter MLS 15 years ago is now likely worth hundreds of millions.
A team that features German great Thomas Muller reached the MLS Cup final last year, losing against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami 3-1.
Reporting by The Associated Press.