For Sale: Vancouver Whitecaps Owners Look to Sell Club

Photo Credit: Vancouver Whitecaps FC

On Dec. 13 the Vancouver Whitecaps ownership group, made up of Greg Kerfoot, Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett, and Steve Nash, announced that the club is for sale.

“It is the right time for an owner with the platform, resources and ambition to enhance the club's ability to compete at the highest levels of MLS and steward the club in realizing its significant potential,” read their statement. Last year, the club was valued at approximately CAD $583 million, according to Forbes.

The threat of relocation to a US city is a huge possibility for the Whitecaps, although this may prove unrealistic with the positives the club has experienced in the past year. The club currently has the seventh highest attendance in the MLS and a 56 per cent increase in attendance according to Sports Business Journal. “Our plan is this team is here for a long time,” Whitecaps CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster told reporters on Dec.13. “There are a lot of reasons to keep it here, and not a lot of reasons to not keep it here.”

Many believe the sale announcement is a positive action for the club. According to local fan discussions on the Vancouver Whitecaps Reddit page, the owners had not taken enough action. “The owners have had cheap and apathetic ownership,” an anonymous Vancouver Whitecaps supporter wrote. Another anonymous fan posted, “We hit the jackpot with Alphonso Davies, sold him to Bayern Munich and the owners mostly just pocketed the cash instead of using it to sign good players.” 

The future of the Whitecaps is unpredictable. With a new owner and proper investment, the Caps could rise up in the standings and become a top tier team. On the other hand, if the new owner has intentions of moving the club, the Whitecaps could be lost from Vancouver forever.