Whitecaps MLS news

[svlt]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Good luck trying to sell the team and move it by October.

I haven't followed closely but I don't think they even have somewhere else to play *immediately*? What other city can take this team and not look like an absolute joke compared to the crowds that Vancouver is drawing (10th in league? 24000+ or so). Aren't the vulture cities in the process of building stadiums that aren't complete yet?

MLS is going to look like a way bigger joke than it already is taking a team drawing 24k crowds and dumping a team in some 6000 stadium while they wait for a billionaire owner to finish their (likely taxpayer funded) build.

[logicbomb]

Crony capitalism continues to the suck the joy out of everything.

Public events are largely no more in this city.
Third spaces are evaporating.
Pro-sports franchises are reduced to operating like private equity where the main focus is not winning but on always making a quick buck.

This city offers next to nothing unless you are a introverted gamer or willing to be physically active at all hours of the day.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by svlt

I haven't followed closely but I don't think they even have somewhere else to play *immediately*? What other city can take this team and not look like an absolute joke compared to the crowds that Vancouver is drawing (10th in league? 24000+ or so). Aren't the vulture cities in the process of building stadiums that aren't complete yet?

It's not about having a place to play; it's about the owners turning a profit before MLS has to downsize and consolidate (and trying to shift blame onto PavCo and the province while doing so).

[blacktrojan3921]

Originally Posted by kikin

building another stadium is something that should have zero public money support when we have things already centralized downtown with big facilities that should easily have many decades of life left

Unfortunately, until the practice is forbidden in both the US and Canada, municipalities and provinces/states are kind of forced to do this dance in order to save their teams from relocating. We've seen what happened in Oakland, California.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by blacktrojan3921

Unfortunately, until the practice is forbidden in both the US and Canada, municipalities and provinces/states are kind of forced to do this dance in order to save their teams from relocating. We've seen what happened in Oakland, California.

Or we could let other people subsidize billionaires and let them leave.

[jollyburger]

Tell that to every industry that gets handouts/grants/subsidies. I mean everyone is pretty well paid on film sets run by billion dollar US film studios but they need $1 billion a year in tax credits?

‘It’s not on the table’: Eby says province won’t be handing over BC Place to the Whitecaps

Eby said he would be meeting with Don Garber, the head of MLS, later in the day.

“I’ll be asking him…’Can we get a specific proposal from you or from the Whitecaps team about what it’ll take to stay and to do our best to see what we can do?'” he said.

“I note that in Columbus, Ohio, for example, Major League Soccer took over the franchise there, bought some time for the local community to come together and put forward a local bid.”

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/04/29/vancouver-whitecaps-eby-bc-place/

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Tell that to every industry that gets handouts/grants/subsidies. I mean everyone is pretty well paid on film sets run by billion dollar US film studios but they need $1 billion a year in tax credits?



https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/04/29/vancouver-whitecaps-eby-bc-place/

The film industry scam is a race to the bottom but aren't we already subsidizing the Whitecaps through their use of BC Place (even if it doesn't give them all the advantages of having their own stadium)?

When the province has just had to cancel the second phase of Burnaby General Hospital and when the City of Vancouver has to pull lifeguards from public beaches I sure as hell don't want my tax dollars going to millionaire/billionaire soccer team owners.

[jollyburger]

Who's the liar? Lol

MLS' Garber on post mocking Vancouver BC Premier: 'My account was compromised'

MLS commissioner Don Garber said that his social media account on X was "compromised" on Wednesday evening, and that is the reason for an inflammatory social media post from his X account that taunted British Columbia Premier David Eby over the Premier's pledge that he was "fighting hard" to prevent the Vancouver Whitecaps from being relocated.

Eby delivered a 45-second video post from his X account on Thursday, in which he told the team's fans that "The Whitecaps are British Columbia, and I want you to know that we are at the table fighting hard to save the Whitecaps."

A direct reply to the post from Garber's X account simply said "Liar liar pants on fire."

Garber posted on X about an hour later stating that "My account was compromised earlier this evening. The issue has been resolved. I appreciate Premier Eby for taking the time to meet with me today."

The reply to Eby's post has since been deleted. An MLS spokesman attributed the post to a "random person," but didn't elaborate on how that individual gained access to Garber's X account.

The MLS executive vice president of communications, Dan Courtemanche, later wrote in a message on X: "Commissioner Garber was hacked and did not post this."

Garber is in Vancouver to not only speak to government leaders about the Whitecaps, but also to attend Thursday's FIFA Congress.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/4...couver-bc-premier-my-account-compromised

[logicbomb]

https://globalnews.ca/news/11824535/formal-bid-buy-vancouver-whitecaps-las-vegas/

What a shame. 16 years and it's over in the blink of an eye...

Originally Posted by whatnext

The film industry scam is a race to the bottom but aren't we already subsidizing the Whitecaps through their use of BC Place (even if it doesn't give them all the advantages of having their own stadium)?

When the province has just had to cancel the second phase of Burnaby General Hospital and when the City of Vancouver has to pull lifeguards from public beaches I sure as hell don't want my tax dollars going to millionaire/billionaire soccer team owners.

We have to ask why the municipalities and provinces are broke. The millionaires and billionaires are already sucking us dry for no real public gain.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by logicbomb

https://globalnews.ca/news/11824535/formal-bid-buy-vancouver-whitecaps-las-vegas/

What a shame. 16 years and it's over in the blink of an eye...



We have to ask why the municipalities and provinces are broke. The millionaires and billionaires are already sucking us dry for no real public gain.

Given how many Youtube videos on what a ghost town is Vegas is becoming, it will be interesting to see how that would pan out.

[RedArbutus]

Garber is a fucking clown. Joke of a league. Does the MLS really think we're falling for this? Not a single person on social media (and a good part of Vancouver's professional sports media) believes what they have to say.

It's increasingly become aware that the current ownership group has no interest in negotiating because they have no interest in articulating their needs. I used to dismiss when people online would say "it's just greed", but it really does seem that way with these guys. No interest in sporting culture in the city; all about that fat expansion fee ROI.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by RedArbutus

Garber is a fucking clown. Joke of a league. Does the MLS really think we're falling for this? Not a single person on social media (and a good part of Vancouver's professional sports media) believes what they have to say.

It's increasingly become aware that the current ownership group has no interest in negotiating because they have no interest in articulating their needs. I used to dismiss when people online would say "it's just greed", but it really does seem that way with these guys. No interest in sporting culture in the city; all about that fat expansion fee ROI.

I mean MLS owns all the teams technically so you can't discount MLS' POV on the situation.

[RedArbutus]

Of course, but it's bitter when it seems like the deck is stacked against the province. The MLS pretending to be interested in keeping them in Vancouver is not much better than the Whitecaps ownership group pretending to be interested in keeping them here.

It's just aggravating as it's increasingly become apparent that it's not about "oh, Vancouver can't support this franchise, the team isn't profitable" and more about "we're simply not making as much money as we, personally, would like, and until this city can subsidize us with public funds to the tune of whatever American cities will throw at us, we're going to threaten to leave". Drives me crazy.

[kikin]

Originally Posted by logicbomb

Crony capitalism continues to the suck the joy out of everything.

Public events are largely no more in this city.
Third spaces are evaporating.
Pro-sports franchises are reduced to operating like private equity where the main focus is not winning but on always making a quick buck.

This city offers next to nothing unless you are a introverted gamer or willing to be physically active at all hours of the day.

bring back Canada Day fireworks downtown, it seems so simple but events like this give back so much in community camaraderie and morale

[Migrant_Coconut]

AFAIK MLS has some kind of clause that lets a team be publically owned? I'm not saying we should give shitty billionaires even more money just to keep the Caps, I'm saying they might not have to leave.

[SpongeG]

The owners don't care if they stay or go, they get their money either way.

What about the other football club the VFC?

[NewfBC]

The team is only worth as much as it is because it's in Vancouver. Take that away and the value plummets.

The city / province can't be held hostage by this.

Ron.

[bluefox]

There are still two likely scenarios IMO.

1) the threat of relocation to Vegas is, as is often the case, being leveraged to force a deal that eventually keeps the Whitecaps in Vancouver. The family mentioned today that purportedly made an offer eventually opts for expansion (a la Columbus/Austin), which makes the league more money and should be their preferred scenario too.

2) the outcome was predetermined and this is all just a charade meant to soften the blow.

I lean to it being the former simply because of the sudden deluge of news in the past two weeks. Everything has felt carefully and deliberately timed with the Whitecaps going on the road, and our attention turning to WC hosting for 3 months, to put maximum pressure on government partners to try to make something happen. That doesn't mean scenario 1 can't somehow lead to scenario 2 later.

[Zepfancouver]

Along the same line of thought as bluefox ... There are many big news stories for 2026, wars, gas prices, DRIPA, ect...For me, the talk of the Whitecaps for sale and possible departure is for me the top news story of 2026.

[logicbomb]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

The owners don't care if they stay or go, they get their money either way.

What about the other football club the VFC?

The CPL is facing some serious issues. There's a total lack of sponsors and investors in the country willing to hedge their bets on pro-sports franchises.

Still boils down to the true root issue of this country lacking competition in all business sectors. Banking, telecom, auto and real estate corporations have largely divested from anything pertaining to corporate-social responsibility. Telus is actively pulling out of sponsorship deals. Local businesses are resorting to advertising through local influencers and social media.

You also have to factor in the influx of newcomers in the past 20-30 years who predominantly come from backgrounds where team sports isn't a major priority. We have a growing population, yes, but the population could care less about MLS soccer, hockey, lacrosse and women's sports which are mostly followed by old stock Canadians. I literally think a Canadian cricket league has a better chance of drawing bigger numbers than a domestic soccer team.