Mayor Sim says Whitecaps leaving Vancouver 'not an option'

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has issued a public statement urging the Vancouver Whitecaps ownership and the provincial government to work together to secure the club’s long-term future in the city.

The move comes amid rumours the club could move to Las Vegas.

"The Whitecaps have been Vancouver’s club since 1974," Sim said. "Many things have changed throughout the years: the players, the logos, the kits, and the stadiums, just to name a few. The one thing that has never changed is Vancouver’s love of this team."

He noted that the Whitecaps are "one of the top teams in the MLS," and "sit in the top ten of league attendance at an average of 24,000+ per game."

"While we understand that professional sports is a complex business, it would be a mistake for any team to leave a market with such a longstanding history and ready-made fanbase," Sim warned. "The City of Vancouver has done its part to create a path forward for the team’s future here by offering prime space at Hastings Park for the Whitecaps to construct a new stadium and entertainment district."

He said what comes next is the "difficult part," pointing out that BC Place — the team’s current home — is owned and operated by the provincial government, a unique situation in MLS.

"In order for the team to stay in Vancouver, the Whitecaps and Province must sign a bridge deal that will allow BC Place to become viable in the near term while a new stadium can be designed and built," Sim explained. "That's why today, we are calling on the team’s ownership to publicly and clearly articulate what they need to stay here in Vancouver, and we are calling on the Provincial Government to come to the table and make that a reality."

He called on Whitecaps fans to "keep the fight going," urging them to "stay strong, and ... stay loud."

"Losing the Whitecaps is not an option," Sim concluded.

He ended with the hashtag #SAVETHECAPS, the rallying cry of the grassroots campaign launched by the Southsiders — Vancouver’s largest independent Whitecaps supporter group — to pressure ownership and MLS to keep the team in the city.

The statement from Sim comes one day after a report released by Tom Bogert and Paul Tenorio of The Athletic which claimed that MLS owners held internal discussions about the possibility of relocating the Whitecaps.