Reaction is pouring in after Monday’s report from The Athletic that the Vancouver Whitecaps FC may soon be heading stateside.
On Monday, the club issued a short, and what some fans feel is concerning, statement.
“The club has faced well-documented structural challenges around stadium economics, venue access, and revenue limitations that have made it difficult to attract buyers committed to keeping the team in Vancouver. Over the past 16 months, we have had serious conversations with more than 100 parties, and to date, no viable offer has emerged that would keep the club here.
It remains the strong preference of this ownership group to find a solution in Vancouver. If there is a local ownership group with the vision and resources to chart a path forward, we urge them to come forward.”
Meanwhile, the independent Whitecaps supporters group, the Vancouver Southsiders, called the reports around the club’s future “unsettling.”
“Now, more than ever, we need your unwavering support. Our mission has not changed,” said a statement by the Southsiders.
“Active engagement of the public will be key moving forward. There is strength in numbers, and the size of our movement is our greatest asset. We reiterate that we are prepared to fight for our club wherever it takes us. The Whitecaps belong in Vancouver, that is non-negotiable.”
Tom Mayenknecht, host on Sportsnet 650, tells 1130 NewsRadio that Las Vegas and Phoenix are two cities being speculated to take on the ‘Caps.
“The vultures have been circling, so to speak,” said Mayenknecht.
“And that part of it doesn’t surprise me. What does surprise me is it has come to this. That there is still no apparent viable local ownership group that has emerged after more than 100 meetings with parties over the last 16-17 months.”
“I’m looking at what we’re hearing… and too many arrows are pointing out of Vancouver, as opposed to in Vancouver.”
The club’s statement comes after a weekend rally to keep the Whitecaps.
“It really will come down to gaining a viable offer of purchase that allows the new buyer to make a commitment to staying in Vancouver for at least the mid-term, if not the long-term,” said Mayenknecht.
“I still refuse to accept that there isn’t some kind of win-win proposition that exists out there, but for the first time in this whole saga, I’m looking at what we’re hearing from the club, from Major League Soccer, from other interested parties, and too many arrows are pointing out of Vancouver, as opposed to in Vancouver.”
He describes this situation as ironic and unique.
“Rarely do you have a team that is possibly going to be relocated, that is a winning team — making it all the way to the MLS Cup Final last year. A team that has attendance growth. All those things are there, but so is the ‘for sale’ sign, and that’s what makes this a very unusual story.”
Mayenknecht says it doesn’t compare to when the Vancouver Grizzlies left town.
“It’s very different in the sense that the NBA was individually owned franchises. Major League Soccer is what we call ‘single entity.’ So, there are differences in the business model there. In the case of the Grizzlies, they were a losing team dealing with a 65-cent dollar back in the day. A strong fanbase, but the moment there was a threat of relocation, corporate partners sat on their hands — that’s very different from this situation where it’s a winning team that is playing the best soccer of its entire time in MLS.”
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He says his optimism is draining quickly.
“The offers from Las Vegas and Phoenix, especially the Vegas one — money doesn’t seem to be an issue. Certainly, I’m less optimistic than I was, but I’m also of the view that there could be a last-minute decision provided, especially if [majority owner] Greg Kerfoot is thinking what I think he’s thinking, he would love the franchise to stay here.”
Mayenknecht says fans should continue to support their team through the process.
Despite on-field success, CEO Axel Schuster said in February, the team remained at the bottom of the league when it came to revenue.
“We are really concerned that, after such a successful season, the gap is even becoming bigger. That this at some point will not be manageable for us anymore,” he said.
Late last year, Schuster and MLS commissioner Don Garber said that the club’s lease at B.C. Place Stadium was not sustainable due to limited scheduling flexibility and restricted revenue from food and beverage sales.
The team signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the City of Vancouver in December to explore the viability of building a new stadium on the city’s eastern edge, then agreed to a new, one-year deal in February with the Crown Corporation that owns and operates BC Place.
Schuster said at the time that the new lease did not solve the Whitecaps’ long-term financial viability issues.
“To be clear, I think it needs 25 to 30 more of these little steps, or it needs a few big steps to really get in safe water and to say ‘OK, now this club gets into more of the area of financial stability and viability,’” he said.
Originally a North American Soccer League team, the Whitecaps have been part of the city and province’s tapestry since 1974.
The club won the NASL title in 1979.
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Kerfoot, a Vancouver entrepreneur, bought the club in 2002, and was joined by the rest of the ownership group in 2008 with the intention of making the ‘Caps an MLS team.
The Whitecaps played their first game in the new league in March 2011.
FIFA vice-president Victor Montagliani has said moving the Whitecaps would be “a bruise” on the city, especially as Vancouver prepares to host seven World Cup games this summer.
“To lose an MLS club on the back of the World Cup would be a capital crime, in my opinion,” he said at a Vancouver Board of Trade event last June.
1130 NewsRadio reached out to the City of Vancouver for comment on Monday, but has yet to hear back.
The Whitecaps currently have a record of 8-0-1.
—With files from David Nadalini and The Canadian Press