‘Save the Whitecaps’ Fight Intensifies With Rival Support As Local Groups ‘Reach Out’

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said several groups had “reached out” about the Whitecaps after an offer was made to move the club to Las Vegas.

Vancouver Whitecaps fans have ramped up protests as MLS Commissioner Don Garber (right) visited the city for the FIFA Congress | Elizabeth Ruiz Ruiz/Getty Images, Jeff Vinick/Getty Images

VANCOUVER — It’s a feeling Vancouver sports fans know all too well. The threat of a beloved team moving out of the country, fleeing to the United States. In 2001, it was the NBA’s Vancouver Grizzlies to Memphis. Now, it’s the Vancouver Whitecaps linked with a move to Las Vegas. 

And it’s not as if the Whitecaps are struggling for interest. The 52-year-old club is debatably the second most popular sporting product in the city and has drawn over 20,000 fans for 19 straight home games, with the on-pitch performance seeing them near the top of MLS. 

Yet, it’s the lack of a soccer-specific stadium and the team’s current home, the provincially owned and crown corporation-operated BC Place, which stand as the primary issues. In the current setup, the club does not have primary date rights at the stadium and earns only 12% of matchday revenues. As such, CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster says they face a $40 million gap compared to the average MLS club. 

The problem, at its core, is that costs have skyrocketed in MLS since the Whitecaps were granted an expansion franchise in 2009, while revenues have remained relatively flat. Few MLS clubs are understood to be profitable or breaking even, despite lofty valuations.

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Las Vegas Offer Sparks Concern

Thomas Müller (left) and Sebastian Berhalter (right) are key stars on the current Vancouver Whitecaps. | Thomas Müller (left) and Sebastian Berhalter (right) led Vancouver Whitecaps to a late comeback win over rivals Portland Timbers.

On Thursday, reports emerged that Grant Gustavson, the son of Kentucky billionaire Tamara Gustavson, had made a formal offer, with the family having made its fortune from founding and operating Public Storage. His intention would be to move the club to Las Vegas and build a soccer-specific stadium.

While those reports put a name to the offer, the Whitecaps had been linked with Las Vegas prior, and relocation had been a topic since December 2024, when the club’s current ownership, including Jeff Mallett, Greg Kerfoot and NBA legend Steve Nash, announced it was looking to sell. 

The Whitecaps and MLS continue to seek solutions in Vancouver, but the time to sort one out is ticking away—and now offers are on the table. Any sale and relocation would have to pass a vote of the MLS Board of Governors to become official.

As of Thursday, which was highlighted by over 1,600 international delegates at the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, representatives of the Province of British Columbia and City of Vancouver said that Whitecaps and MLS had not outlined what exactly would be required to remain in the market.

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MLS Commissioner Meets Local Leaders

MLS Commissioner opted not to speak with media on a recent trip to Vancouver. | Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

MLS Commissioner Don Garber met with British Columbia Premier David Eby on Wednesday and Thursday, and also sat near Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim for the four-hour FIFA meeting. However, Garber did not address the media on Thursday, opting to walk past clamouring reporters. 

The Congress came mere hours after a tweet from Garber’s X (formerly Twitter) account commented, “Liar liar pants on fire,” below a video of Eby’s support for the Whitecaps remaining in Vancouver. MLS and Garber later added that his account had been “compromised.”

“Major League Soccer remains focused on working with the Whitecaps and local stakeholders to determine whether a sustainable long-term path for the club can be achieved,” MLS spokesperson Dan Courtemanche said in a statement Thursday. 

“While in Vancouver for the FIFA Congress, Commissioner Don Garber met yesterday with Premier of British Columbia David Eby. He also had the opportunity to speak with Premier Eby, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, British Columbia Deputy Minister of Tourism Silas Brownsey, and PavCo President and CEO Rehana Din during the Congress.

“Those conversations were constructive, and we appreciate the time and engagement from local leadership. 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.”

A statement from Whitecaps’ Shuster further added that the club remains on the hunt for solutions in Vancouver, but that there would be no further comments at this time.

B.C. Jobs and Economic Growth Minister Ravi Kahlon, who is handling the Whitecaps file, also chimed in Thursday: “I’m hoping that that meeting and that dialogue from that meeting was genuine ... if they have already made a decision to move the team, I’d rather they just tell and not have everybody go through the anxiety of trying to figure out what we can do.”

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Fan Protests Intensify 

A group of Vancouver Whitecaps supporters are making their #savethecaps message heard to FIFA representatives from around the world this morning. pic.twitter.com/itu7LqMeS7

— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) April 30, 2026

While news of the official Vegas offer emerged midway through the FIFA Congress, Whitecaps supporters had already made their voices heard in an intensifying Save The Caps campaign, with several chanting and holding banners as FIFA’s most important decision-makers walked into the Vancouver Convention Centre. 

The Save The Caps campaign was inspired by the Save The Crew movement in 2018, which garnered massive local and international support, while leaning on Ohio legislation to keep Columbus Crew in market after then owner Anthony Precourt had eyed a move to Austin. 

In that situation, the legislation played a vital role—there are no similar laws in British Columbia—but the social pushback also took on plenty of weight. Precourt was then granted an MLS expansion franchise, now Austin FC, while the Columbus-based Haslam Family stepped in to save the Crew in the final days. 

#SaveTheCaps pic.twitter.com/YII1FjfWVW

— Crew96Times (@Crew96Times) April 29, 2026

The Save The Caps campaign is off to a similar start. Led by the Vancouver Southsiders at the recent Vancouver win over the Colorado Rapids, Save The Caps posters have been seen across several MLS, USL and Canadian Premier League teams. That trend is expected to grow over the next several weeks.

Rival players and coaches have also spoken out, with Seattle Sounders manager Brian Schmetzer saying “it would be sad” if the historic Canadian club were to move, while Portland Timbers goalkeeper James Pantemis added that “the rivalry means a lot,” and “you want to beat them, but you want them to stay.”

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Local Interest ‘Reached Out,’ Says Mayor

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim (left) previously signed an MOU with the Whitecaps for a potential stadium at Hastings Park. | City of Vancouver

While the Whitecaps’ issues remain, Mayor Sim revealed in a short media availability with local press at FIFA Congress that “a lot of groups have reached out in the 48 hours” after the initial reports of relocation emerged Monday, adding “I don’t want to give anyone false hope, because we do have a hill to climb.”

The Whitecaps had previously urged local groups that could see a feasible path ahead for the team in the market to come forward, and mentioned that over 100 groups had previously looked at the club and decided a deal did not suit them. 

Sim, meanwhile, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Whitecaps in December to take the first steps towards a potential soccer stadium at Hastings Park, an area outside of downtown previously used for horse racing. Still, any stadium would remain a pricey dream for new ownership, leaving Sim concerned.

“I think we should all be concerned, and that’s from well before Vegas came into the picture,” he added. “We’ve been concerned, and we’ve been working on this for over a year. We can’t control what other groups that have an interest in our team, what they do. All we can do is control our own destiny.”

Amid it all, the Whitecaps are thriving on the pitch, with USMNT World Cup hopefuls Brian White and Sebastian Berhalter alongside German legend Thomas Müller, as they embark on an eight-game road trip due to the FIFA World Cup taking over BC Place until Aug. 1. 

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