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With the Vancouver Whitecaps up for sale and rumors swirling about a potential U.S. buyer moving the MLS club, the team’s longest-standing supporters group, the Vancouver Southsiders, are making it clear they don’t want to see the club leave the city.
On Saturday evening, the Southsiders are inviting everyone to join their Save The Caps pre-game march down Robson Street to show their love and support for the team.
Southsiders president Ciaran Nicoll said the Whitecaps’ impressive 7-1 start to the season should help draw more than 1,000 participants to the march.
“This is a really good opportunity to show whoever it might be that is going to be putting up money, that we really do love our club in Vancouver, and … show the league, the world, the city that we are a club that cannot be moved,” Nicoll said.
The march will conclude at B.C. Place, where the Whitecaps host the Colorado Rapids. This will be Vancouver’s last home game before a two-month stretch of nine consecutive road matches to accommodate the FIFA World Cup.
The Save The Caps campaign takes inspiration from Columbus Crew fans, who rallied nearly a decade ago to keep their team from relocating to Austin, Texas. The Save The Crew effort emerged after owner Anthony Precourt cited financial difficulties in Columbus.
Whitecaps sporting director Axel Schuster echoed similar concerns in February, stating that despite strong on-field performance, the club faces a $40-million revenue shortfall and needs more public and private investment.
The Whitecaps’ private owners, led by billionaire Greg Kerfoot, put the team up for sale in 2024. No buyers have emerged yet, but soaring MLS team valuations are fueling fan unease. The average MLS team is now worth around $750 million US.
At the top is Inter Miami FC, which beat the Whitecaps for the 2025 MLS Cup. Forbes estimates Inter Miami’s value at $1.35 billion US with $200 million US in annual revenue.
In comparison, Forbes values the Whitecaps at $445 million US, ranking 29th out of 30 MLS teams, with the league’s lowest revenue at $46 million US.
The last MLS expansion fee was $500 million US from San Diego FC in 2023.
MLS has been considering new expansion cities such as Detroit, Tampa Bay, Indianapolis, Sacramento, and recently Las Vegas, which proposed a 50,000-seat soccer stadium as part of a new sports and entertainment complex.
Nicoll commented, “The expansion fee for an MLS franchise at this point is astronomical. So of course somebody who wants a team is going to look at how they can get one for cheaper than that, right?”
Relocation threats are commonly used in professional sports to pressure governments for financial support. The Whitecaps’ situation prompted the provincial government to grant over $1.5 million in stadium revenues this season. B.C. Place is operated by the provincial Crown corporation PavCo.
The team and the City of Vancouver are also in talks about a potential land deal for the closed Hastings Park racecourse. Plans include developing a soccer-specific stadium and entertainment district, which would provide ongoing profits for the club.
However, these long-term plans offer no immediate relief. The Whitecaps’ one-year lease at B.C. Place ends after this season.
In an email to CBC News, PavCo stated it “remains committed to working collaboratively with the Whitecaps and our partners to support the team’s long‑term future in British Columbia – a future we very much hope is at B.C. Place.”
Meanwhile, the Southsiders hold tight to hope that fan passion will make a difference and that Vancouver’s loyal soccer supporters won’t be overlooked in the sale process.
“The risk of the MLS saying that we’re not profitable enough, and the team needs to move to become profitable, is too high for us to do nothing,” Nicoll said.