The Vancouver Whitecaps are for sale and that has some people worrying about the team’s future in the city.
The club’s current ownership group — Greg Kerfoot, Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett, and Steve Nash — have often been criticized for not spending enough money to improve the team. But at least they spent it on a team located in Vancouver.
The question now is, who else locally is willing and able to buy the team?
Fans are already asking Ryan Reynolds to do it, but he hasn’t expressed an interest publicly.
Would the Aquilini family step up and incorporate the Whitecaps into Canucks Sports and Entertainment? The club is probably too rich for BC Lions owner Amar Doman.
Ryan Beedie and Tom Gaglardi are two of the richest people in the province and have shown an interest in sports in the past. They famously both tried to buy a stake in the Canucks in 2004, and Gaglardi now owns the NHL’s Dallas Stars.
The lengthy statement put out by the Whitecaps today did not explicitly state that the team would remain in Vancouver, although that’s obviously everyone’s wish.
Kerfoot called Vancouver a “first-class soccer market,” and said the “future of the Vancouver Whitecaps is bright.”
But a lot has changed with Major League Soccer since Vancouver was awarded a franchise in 2009 for $30 million.
The Whitecaps are now worth $470 million, according to Sportico, who ranked the team 27th out of 29 MLS clubs. Four franchises (LAFC, Atlanta United, Inter Miami CF, and LA Galaxy) are now worth over a billion dollars by the same ranking.
Profits are limited for the Whitecaps by virtue of the fact that they don’t own their own stadium, meaning they don’t fully profit from money spent at BC Place in the same way the Canucks do at Rogers Arena.
Would the franchise make more money in an American city like Las Vegas or Phoenix? And what happens if the highest bidder wants to relocate the team?
Honestly though, there should be some panic for Whitecaps fans. Criticize the current owners all you want, but there won’t be a long lineup for this team. Cross your fingers Caps fans, or you might be cheering on Vegas, San Antonio or Phoenix
— Blake Price (@justBlakePrice) December 13, 2024
Interesting timing on the Whitecaps story because I was just speaking with someone the other day that doesn’t believe they’ll be in Vancouver much longer
— Dan Riccio (@danriccio_) December 13, 2024
The Whitecaps have zero assets. The training centre isn’t theirs and neither is the stadium.
As much as I would love to see a more sophisticated group embrace Vancouver with a new direction, the reality points to relocation which would be cheaper than expansion.
— Peter Schaad (@PeteSchaad) December 13, 2024
Speaking with the media on Friday, Whitecaps CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster did his best to calm those fears. He confirmed that keeping the club in Vancouver would be a priority.
“My only expectation and our plan is this team is here for a long time, and the team will do even better here,” said Schuster. “We’re looking for somebody who is ambitious, is passionate, who’s committed, and who wants to lead the club into the next decade in Vancouver.”
Schuster pointed to other local professional teams that thrived after they were sold. The Canucks were sold to the Aquilinis in 2004, and the BC Lions have thrived since Amar Doman bought the franchise in 2021.
“I think it’s fair enough to say they’re in a better place today than they have been before,” Schuster said.
But there weren’t fears of those franchises leaving town at the time of their sales. And everyone remembers how the Vancouver Grizzlies left for Memphis in 2001, not long after they were sold to a new owner.
Schuster believes there are many reasons to keep the Whitecaps in Vancouver, though.
“There is a lot of reasons to keep it here and not a lot of reasons not to keep it here. We have an amazing market and a good supporters group,” he said. “There is a lot of space to grow.”
- You might also like:
- How much money every Vancouver Whitecaps player is making in 2024