The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade has released an open letter calling on businesses to help keep the Vancouver Whitecaps from moving out of the city.
The organization says hundreds of businesses have signed on, pledging to explore sponsorships, partnerships and ticketing programs aimed at addressing Major League Soccer’s club revenue challenges.
The Whitecaps are up for sale as of December 2024, and an investor group recently submitted a bid to MLS seeking to buy the club and move it to Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas bid is led by businessman Grant Gustavson and includes plans for a privately financed soccer specific stadium in Nevada. Gustavson is the grandson of Public Storage co-founder B. Wayne Hughes and the son of billionaire investor Tamara Gustavson.
The club has cited revenue constraints at the provincially owned BC Place Stadium as an obstacle to attracting a local buyer.
“For more than 50 years, the Vancouver Whitecaps have been a pillar of our community, and the business community is sending a clear message: we want them to stay,” said Bridgitte Anderson, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.
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Premier David Eby is scheduled to meet this week with representatives from the Whitecaps, MLS, the City of Vancouver and local First Nations to discuss keeping the team in Vancouver.
Eby said Tuesday he doesn’t believe a decision has already been made on moving the Whitecaps to Las Vegas.
“If that’s already decided, if the fix is in and going to Vegas, then just be clear with us,” he said.
“But if not, then this table is a reflection of our willingness to bring those key partners together to be creative and find that solution.”
BC Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon said last week that a local ownership group had approached the province about a possible bid for the club and seemed serious about keeping the team in Vancouver.
Fans of the Vancouver Whitecaps MLS soccer team gather to support the team in Vancouver outside the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver on Thursday, April 30, 2026. CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck.
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Whitecaps CEO Axel Schuster has said more than 30 potential buyers have looked at the club’s books since the team went up for sale, but none have been interested in operating the franchise in Vancouver under the current business model.
The board of trade says the soccer club brings hundreds of thousands of fans downtown each season and generates tens of millions of dollars in economic activity for local businesses, supporting the hospitality, retail and tourism sectors.
The uncertainty surrounding the Whitecaps comes weeks before Vancouver hosts seven FIFA World Cup games at BC Place next month.
&copies 2026 The Canadian Press
