Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim “concerned” about the Whitecaps future as Vegas vultures circle

Vancouver Whitecaps’ future in the city they’ve called home since 1974 very much hangs in the balance. With every passing day this week bringing more grim news about the team relocating south of the border, the much talked about bid from a Las Vegas group got a name behind their MLS ambitions today.

Sportico broke the news on Thursday morning that Grant Gustavson, son of billionaire Tamara Gustavson, one of the wealthiest women in America, “submitted a bid for consideration” to the MLS league office to buy the Whitecaps and move them to Vegas.

With the Whitecaps confirming in a statement on Monday that they had had interest from over 100 parties, but none of them were deemed viable to keep the team in Vancouver, and a daily pissing contest between the various political parties with a stake in the process, things have gone from joy at wrapping up a successful home stand on Saturday, to very dark times just mere days later.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim was at the 76th FIFA Congress that was being held in the city today and spoke candidly about the Whitecaps plight and what the City of Vancouver are trying to do to help keep the team in their hometown.

“We’re just working really hard to make sure we give Vancouver Whitecaps every opportunity to keep the ‘Caps in Vancouver,” Sim told media in a brief chat after the Congress ended. “I was sitting beside Don Garber today so we’ve had some conversations where the League’s at. Look, a lot of groups have reached out over the last 48 hours. I don’t want to give anyone false hope, because we do have a hill to climb.

“The City, we’ve done everything we can to make sure we set up a future ownership group with a path towards success, now it’s up to the Province to step up.”

What the Province stepping up is taken to mean is thrashing out a deal with the Whitecaps to stay at B.C. Place with better terms, one option being that the B.C. Government hand over the operating of the stadium to the ‘Caps in return to them servicing the debt. Premier David Eby seemed to indicate that wasn’t on the table and the Whitecaps hadn’t asked for it. What the ‘Caps and MLS actually want and need is still unclear. MLS Commissioner Don Garber was originally looking at chatting with local media this afternoon, but that ultimately did not go ahead.

Neither are talking publicly and Sim wouldn’t share what Garber had told him in that regard.

“Without getting into the details, because it’s not my place to say, you have a Commissioner that wants to see football succeed in the city of Vancouver, so I think that’s very promising,” was all Sim would say. “At the end of the day, the economics have to work for whoever the future owner is.

We know in Vancouver we have a deep love for the Whitecaps. It’s part of our history, it’s part of our heritage. The fans have stepped up, we had 27,000 fans that came out to the last game, so we know the market can support the team. It’s just they have a stadium deal right now that doesn’t really work, so we’re working through that.”

So how concerned is Sim that the ‘Caps will leave Vancouver?

“I think we should all be concerned and that’s from well before Vegas came into the picture,” Sim admitted. “We’ve been concerned and we’ve been working on this for over a year. We can’t control what other groups that have an interest in our team, what they do. All we can do is control our own destiny. At the City of Vancouver we’ve done everything we can to identify the PNE as a site where a future owner can build a stadium and an entertainment district, without taxpayers dollars may I add.

“The next stumbling block is a bridge deal with the province and that is based on if they do look at the PNE as a future site. There are other options that have come up. There are groups that have been coming out of the woodwork, so we’re working hard, we’re trying to flush them out and more to come.”

Let’s hope they come out soon and, more importantly, are deemed viable by the Whitecaps current owner and MLS.