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The article emphasizes the importance of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC remaining in Vancouver, highlighting the negative impact on communities when sports teams relocate. It draws on historical examples of fan loyalty and heartbreak from past team relocations.
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Vancouver Whitecaps FC fans hold up signage prior to the first half against the Colorado Rapids at BC Place.
(Simon Fearn-Imagn Images)
LAS VEGAS â Let me start by saying Iâm not a fan of sports teams leaving their cities for new markets because they were promised a new arena or stadium. Or left that town when they didn't get a new arena or stadium in order to remain there.
When communities lose their teams, it has a devastating impact that is long-lasting. I grew up in Brooklyn and was born when the Dodgers still called Ebbets Field home. When they left for Los Angeles in the fall of 1957, folks were heartbroken. Many never forgave Walter OâMalley and turned their allegiances elsewhere, mostly when the Mets were born in 1962.
I lived in the Bay Area when the Aâs and Raiders ruled at the Oakland Coliseum. I remember the NHL Seals, who would up and move to Cleveland. Youâve seen the anger from fans of those teams over their departure from the East Bay.
I can go on and on. The Kings leaving Kansas City for Sacramento after leaving Rochester for Cincinnati for K.C. The North Stars leaving Minnesota for Dallas. The Rams leaving Los Angeles for Anaheim, then to St. Louis then back to L.A. The Chargers leaving San Diego to return to L.A., their original home in 1960. Â
Each time, a fan base was jilted, a community robbed of its identity, a fan base betrayed all in the pursuit of the almighty buck.
And now, as a longtime resident of Las Vegas who has benefited from the Raidersâ move and will have Major League Baseball come 2028 when the Aâs conclude their exodus from West Sacramento along with the likelihood of an NBA team in '28, I see where Major League Soccer is considering relocating the Vancouver Whitecaps here. Or perhaps to Phoenix.
Las Vegas should have had an MLS team years ago. In fact, I remember asking Alan Rothenberg, who came up with the plan to launch MLS following the 1994 World Cup here in the United States if Las Vegas would be considered.
The Vancouver Whitecaps' presence in the city fosters community pride and loyalty, which can be severely affected if the team relocates.
The article references the Brooklyn Dodgers' move to Los Angeles in 1957, which left fans heartbroken and led to a shift in loyalties.
Team relocations can have a devastating and long-lasting impact on local communities, leading to loss of identity and fan engagement.
Fans often feel a deep sense of loss and betrayal, which can lead to a decline in local support for sports and a shift in allegiance to other teams.
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Rothenberg, ever the pragmatist, said that the town wasnât quite ready, that there was no suitable place for the team to play and that perhaps down the road, Las Vegas would get a team.
In the meantime, weâve had minor league outdoor and indoor soccer teams while MLS grew and grew and grew in what critics have called commissioner Don Garberâs constant expansion âa Ponzi scheme.â
And the American soccer audience has changed since MLS launched in 1996. What used to be the domain of the ethnic residents who brought their love of the game with them from the country them emigrated from along with the suburban soccer families of the 1980s in the old North American Soccer League days has given way to Gen-Zâers who are college educated, have enough discretionary income at their disposal, are well versed in social media skills and follow the sport with the same fanaticism youâll find in England, in Germany, in Spain and Italy. For them, both men and women, many who grew up playing soccer as kids, it's a cool thing to attach their social lives to. Â
You put the Whitecaps in Vegas or Phoenix and theyâll turn out. Theyâll find a way to pay the exorbitant prices MLS charges â the average ticket price for an MLS match in 2026 is close to $50. Of course, thatâs dirt cheap in comparison to what FIFA is charging to attend the World Cup in June.
Ironically, attendance is not an issue in Vancouver. The Whitecaps, who are highly competitive on the pitch (theyâre in second place in the Western Conference, two points out of first), are doing well at the turnstiles. Vancouver, which plays in the cavernous, charm-lacking, 54,000-seat B.C. Place Stadium, is averaging 24,189 this season, ranking 10th in the 30-team MLS.
The problem? The teamâs lease is expiring and it may not have a place to play in the future. The Whitecaps appeared to have a deal to build a new home on the grounds of the Hastings Racecourse thoroughbred track located at the Pacific National Exhibition grounds. But that may or may not happen despite a signed Memorandum of Understanding between the team and the city. Â
There arenât many other options available. Empire Stadium, where the original Whitecaps called home, was gone decades ago. The team has been up for sale for almost two years and the current ownership may sell the team and have it relocate to here or possibly to Phoenix. The problem with that is neither Las Vegas nor Phoenix have a soccer-specific stadium currently available to accommodate the Whitecaps.
From a business perspective, thatâs a major issue. Could the team play at Allegiant Stadium or in Glendale at the Cardinalsâ State Farm Stadium? Sure, in the interim that would probably work. But the team would not share in any of the revenue streams that the Raiders and Cardinals currently enjoy as the landlords of their respective facilities. And if thatâs the case, how could a soccer team generate enough revenue to be profitable?
You have to own your own stadium or arena. Thatâs how it works in professional sports in the second quarter of the 21st Century. Itâs why NBA commissioner Adam Silver has not lauded T-Mobile Arena as a home for a Las Vegas expansion franchise even though itâs perfectly fine and will be undergoing a $300 million facelift in the near future. The NHLâs Golden Knights are the primary tenants and majority owner Bill Foley benefits from most, if not all the revenue streams that come with playing at T-Mobile.
Silver knows the business side of sports. He knows that the NBA team which owns its own arena gets to control most of, if not all the revenue streams, which in turn gives it the best chance to be financially successful. Itâs why the proposed NBA arena projects keep popping up all over town. Â
Now, if Foley winds up being awarded the NBA Las Vegas franchise, that changes everything. Much like the move made by Samantha Holloway, who heads the group that owns the Seattle Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena. If her group gets awarded the NBAâs Seattle expansion franchise and marks the return of the SuperSonics, it will fall under one huge umbrella as One Roof Sports and Entertainment will own both teams and share the revenues.
Itâs going to ultimately take whoever gets the Whitecaps the task of building an MLS-specific soccer stadium, one that seats between 25,000 to 30,000 and allows the team to benefit from the naming rights, luxury boxes, club seating, parking, concessions and the like.
Apparently, that's the plan as Grant Gustavson and his family have reached out to MLS as potential owners of the Whitecaps. Gustavson's mother Tamara is the largest shareholder of Public Storage and whose worth is estimated to be $8.6 billion. Her father, B. Wayne Hughes, is the founder of Public Storage. Their plan is to build a soccer stadium in Las Vegas for the team to play in. Grant Gustavson lives in Las Vegas and is heading a group of potential buyers.
Sadly, that couldâve happened here a while back. When UNLV opted out of Sam Boyd Stadium to play its home football games at Allegiant Stadium, it left a facility that couldâve been converted into an MLS soccer stadium. There was a plan that would have widened the pitch, replace the artificial turf with natural grass, had canopies cover much of the stands with a misting system so fans wouldnât bake in the summer heat, have locker rooms rebuilt and put chair back seats in a good portion of the stadium.
Yes, the cost would have been in the tens of millions but it would have been far cheaper than building a new stadium from scratch. Plus, there were practice fields behind the stadium that a Las Vegas MLS team couldâve utilized for training. It couldâve been home to the teamâs academy used to develop future players. Most of all, residents had been accustomed of traveling to Sam Boyd Stadium for decades and their familiarity with the site would have made it work.
But it never came to pass. The university sold the stadium and the land to Clark County in June 2025 and itâs headed for the wrecking ball â hey, maybe Bruce Springsteen can write a song about it! Oh wait. He did.
So whoever MLS deems worthy of owning the Whitecaps, whether it's the Gustavson family or some other group, and it moves the team, they better be prepared to shell out the $1 billion to $2 billion it'll cost to build the new stadium from scratch. Itâs the only way itâll work, be it here in Las Vegas or in Phoenix, which is watching its former NHL team that it got from Winnipeg, mind you, compete in this yearâs Stanley Cup Playoffs as the Utah Mammoth.
I have a better idea for MLS and Garber. Stay in British Columbia, where you are loved and supported well and find a way to remain the Vancouver Whitecaps. Find local ownership that is committed to keeping the team there. Get the Hastings site developed and built. Or find another suitable location in the greater Vancouver area. Â
The community deserves to keep its soccer team. We here in Las Vegas will survive with the Golden Knights, the Raiders, the Aces, the Aâs, UNLV and whatever our future NBA team its called. If MLS wants to expand to Southern Nevada, fine. We'll deal with it then. But let's stop taking other cities' teams to boost our own sporting image. Being Vegas Born should mean something. Just ask Bill Foley.