World Cup host city Vancouver faces losing Major League Soccer club Whitecaps

World Cup host Vancouver faces losing its Major League Soccer club to another city. MLS said Monday evening that it would “evaluate all options” for the future of the Vancouver Whitecaps, including leaving the city. The club was put up for sale 16 months ago by an ownership group that includes former NBA star Steve Nash. The uncertainty around the team is fueled by limited revenue options and a short-term lease at BC Place Stadium which will host seven World Cup matches in June and July, including Canada playing Qatar and Switzerland. “This is reaching a critical point,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Tuesday during a meeting with The Associated Press Sports Editors in New York. Garber called the situation at BC Place untenable, citing strict scheduling restrictions from the government entity that owns and operates the building and the inability to add premium seating. The British Columbia government said Tuesday it is working with the Whitecaps to help the team cut costs and generate more revenue at BC Place — but it would not buy the team to prevent it from moving. Ravi Kahlon, British Columbia’s minister of jobs and economic growth, said the team is now using the stadium for free and any breaks the team received this year could be extended for another year. The Whitecaps and the provincial government — which owns BC Place through provincial crown corporation PavCo — signed a one-year lease earlier this year that returns to the club about $1 million to $1.5 million each year that the province earns from hosting. Kahlon, a longtime season ticket holder, says the province has also helped the team generate more revenue through concession sales and advertising, adding that the province is open to exploring other revenue streams. “If there are real things they need to do to keep the team here, we want to make that happen,” he said. Garber confirmed reports that Las Vegas could be an option if Vancouver moved, saying a group from Las Vegas had submitted an application for an MLS team. He expressed hope that the Whitecaps could find a way to stay in Vancouver and said expansion to Las Vegas could also be a possibility, but no decision has been made. Las Vegas was not necessarily the only city mentioned. FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani, a Vancouver native, said last year that losing an MLS club “as a result of the World Cup would be a capital crime, in my opinion.” Fans holding “Save the Caps” signs demonstrated on Saturday during the team’s final home match, before the stadium resumes for the World Cup. Attendance was more than 27,000 people. In a statement on Monday evening, the Whitecaps said they had had “serious conversations with over 100 parties and, to date, no viable offer has emerged that would allow the club to remain here”. “The club has faced well-documented structural challenges regarding stadium economics, venue access and revenue limitations that have made it difficult to attract buyers committed to keeping the team in Vancouver.” Franchise fees that cost tens of millions of dollars to get into MLS 15 years ago are probably worth hundreds of millions today. A team featuring German great Thomas Muller reached the MLS Cup final last year, losing 3-1 to Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. Associated Press reporting.