City will do ‘anything we can’ to keep Whitecaps in Vancouver: mayor
Posted April 8, 2025 6:57 am.
With the Vancouver Whitecaps’ continued presence in downtown Vancouver in question, Mayor Ken Sim says the city will do whatever it can to keep the club in town.
On Monday, Sim confirmed that high-level talks continue between the city and the Major League Soccer club after Whitecaps management floated the idea of a new home, possibly built on the PNE grounds in East Vancouver.
“We are big supporters of the Whitecaps, and we would love to see the [team] remain in Vancouver. As a city, we will do anything we can to help that. We’ve had conversations, but the nature of those conversations I can’t share with the public,” said Sim.
He added that the primary goal is to keep the team — which is up for sale — from moving out altogether.
“What we are going to focus on here is the fact that the Whitecaps might leave the region. We will look at everything. Obviously, there are a lot of things I can’t comment about, but … we will do whatever we can within our power that makes sense for the residents of Vancouver to keep the team in the region.”
The fear is a new owner will scoop up the team — a bargain because it’s one of the few in the league that doesn’t own its stadium — and take it to another city.
Whitecaps FC CEO and Sporting Director Axel Schuster has suggested a new stadium would help anchor the team in Vancouver, along with generating more revenue for the team.
“We are only working on one plan, on one goal, and this is to keep the club in Vancouver and to find a very good setup for the future of this club in Vancouver, and part of all of this is to look into every possible option that might be needed to do this successfully,” said Schuster.
Schuster says the current ownership group has not given up on the club and is committed to finding a solution that leads to a successful future for the team in Vancouver but admits there is interest in the team from outside the region.
“To work on an option for a potential new ownership group … and you want to do a good job to continue to grow this club in this city, we also have a ready-for-you option on the table for a stadium.”
It’s not clear what the city’s stake in any new stadium would be.
The Whitecaps currently lease their playing space at BC Place from the provincial government, with the agreement expiring at the end of 2025.
