B.C.’s jobs minister says a local group is planning to make a bid to buy the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Ravi Kahlon said Wednesday the government was approached by an interested group, but he isn’t saying who is behind it.
“We just had a group that’s reached out to us that has been organizing apparently for a few weeks to put a bid in for the Whitecaps,” Kahlon said.
He says he doesn’t have any further details to share, other than there is a “group of business leaders that have come together to try to keep the team here.”
“I’ll leave it to the group to share that information when they’re ready, but they do seem serious,” he said.
“If the team is for sale and a local group wants to perhaps move in, I think that’s a positive development for Whitecaps fans and, of course, for the province.”
When asked if the province would be willing to help a local bid for the team, Kahlon said there have been no requests for this but didn’t say whether or not this would be an option.
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“All we know is that there’s a bid group that’s interested, and they’re doing their due diligence, and they’ll be sharing that publicly very soon,” he said.
“There’s a lot of anxiety amongst Whitecaps fans that they want to see a local proponent come forward. I think this might be a positive development.”
He wasn’t able to provide further details about the viability or legitimacy of the bid.
“We’ll have to see the full package when they’ve put it together,” he said.
“The bid so far seems interesting. It seems like it’s grounded in a plan to keep the team here, and that’s all I can share at the time.”
The future of Vancouver’s MLS team has been uncertain ever since a Las Vegas group led by billionaire business leader Grant Gustavson said last week it had submitted a bid to purchase the team.
— With files from The Canadian Press