With a come from behind victory on the road in Dallas Wednesday evening, the Vancouver Whitecaps propelled themselves to the top of the standings in Major League Soccer. As that was happening, all three levels of government and local First Nations met with team and league executives in downtown Vancouver. “To be able to have everyone in the room talking about moving the team in a positive direction and finding ways to keep them here was very, very positive,” said Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth Ravi Kahlon, who represented the province at the closed-door meeting. The ‘Caps are for sale, and the most serious bid so far comes from a group hoping to move the club to Las Vegas. “To lose that sense of community would be kind of heartbreaking,” said Kevin Kerr, a member of the Vancouver Southsiders supporters’ group. While concerned about the possibility of a move, he is buoyed by the fact multiple levels of government and other interested parties haven’t given up. Following Wednesday’s meeting, the city, province, federal government and local nations released a joint statement. “We are doing everything we can to keep the Whitecaps here, and we are committed to building a long-term solution that reflects the scale, ambition and global future of the city,” they wrote. Kerr said that combined commitment gives him hope. “I mean, obviously the deal’s not done yet. But as we understand it, there is a local consortium kind of coming together that’s actually very serious,” he said. If there is a local buyer ready to make an offer, they haven’t come forward publicly. “There are some interested parties that want to explore the opportunity. But at this point, all we can control are the levers that we have within our jurisdiction to be able to create the environment for that,” Kahlon said. He said exploring ways to help the team maximize game day revenue at BC Place was part of the discussion. To make it work economically long-term, there is a consensus the team would eventually need its own stadium. So far, nobody has expressed a willingness to build one. The Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations all had representatives at the stakeholders’ meeting. So far, none of them have publicly declared what their involvement might look like in any plan to keep the team in Vancouver. “These discussions are active and ongoing, and any proposal that emerges would then need to be formally presented to Squamish Nation Council and subjected to full due diligence before any commitment is considered,” said Wilson Williams, chairperson of the Squamish Nation. The Whitecaps also released a statement on Thursday. “All parties have committed to continuing to work actively towards improving the economics of soccer in Vancouver. We are encouraged by this shared intent,” the team said. “As these discussions advance, the next steps will be for Whitecaps FC and stakeholders to formalize proposals that will make the club more attractive for local ownership groups to come forward.” With FIFA World Cup games at BC Place just weeks away, and the Whitecaps sitting in first place in the league, this should be a golden era for soccer fans in Vancouver – yet they are still left wondering if they will even have a team to support next season.
