Vancouver’s Ken Sim asks province to keep Whitecaps in city

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says that losing the MLS Whitecaps franchise is not an option.

In a written statement on Tuesday, he called on the provincial government to step in and do its part to keep the team in Vancouver.

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He says that Victoria and the Whitecaps owners need to work out a “bridge deal” that offers a viable path forward for the soccer team.

Sim’s announcement comes a day after The Athletic reported that the MLS is exploring options to relocate the Whitecaps to Las Vegas.

In response to the rumours, the Whitecaps issued a statement, saying that “structural challenges around stadium economics” have left the club without potential buyers.

BC Place, the current stadium of the Whitecaps, does not yield enough profit for the team’s owners because it is owned and operated by the B.C. Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a Crown corporation.

“BC Place is owned and operated by the provincial government,” the mayor said in his announcement.

“In fact, it’s the only stadium owned and operated by a government-owned entity anywhere in the MLS.”

In December, the team and the City of Vancouver signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the option of building a new stadium on the city’s eastern edge, near Hastings Park.

Sim’s hope is now that a potential deal with the province could buy the Whitecaps time to design and build this new stadium.

“We are calling on the team’s ownership to publicly and clearly articulate what they need to stay here in Vancouver, and we are calling on the provincial government to come to the table and make that a reality,” Sim said.

However, Ravi Kahlon, the Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth, responsible for PavCo, states that the NDP government has already accomplished a great deal and has allowed the Whitecaps to play at BC Place for free.

“We have dramatically reduced their costs at the stadium. They identified opportunities for better concession sales and advertising, and we have done all those things. In fact, the stadium now is at no cost to them,” Kahlon said.

Fan reaction predominantly negative online

The MLA for Delta North, a season ticket holder, adds that those benefits are here to stay.

However, Kahlon explains that the province is not interested in buying the team, despite the possibility it could relocate.

“When even deep down, many years we did not believe the team would win, and so see the team finally win and being a top team, and now hearing ownership wants to sell the team, it is stressful for those fans.”

In the meantime, there has been no update from the City of Vancouver on plans to rework Hastings Park for a potential sports venue.

Additionally, a new survey, released on Tuesday by CanadaSportsBetting.ca, found that fan reaction to The Athletic’s report has predominantly been negative.

72 per cent of online comments expressed frustrations about the possibility of a relocation to Las Vegas.

The analysis of 2,000 comments also found that many fans criticize “MLS owners and business-led decision-making.”

“Only 11% of fan comments showed ‘joy’ about the relocation discussion,” the survey’s authors said.