The Vancouver Whitecaps have a bidder, and it’s not local.
Las Vegas businessman Grant Gustavson has submitted a formal bid for the Canadian MLS club to the league. The bid includes relocating the club from Vancouver to Las Vegas.
The group has pledged to build a soccer-specific stadium through privately funded means. No information about this part of the proposal has been public as of yet.
It is important to note this bid is not associated with Starr Vegas, the $10 billion US proposal to build a 50,000 soccer-specific stadium and a 25,000 NBA-ready arena on a location near the south end of the Las Vegas strip.
Gustavson is the son of billionaire Tamara Gustavson, who is a shareholder of Public Storage. The company was co-founded by his grandfather, B. Wayne Hughes.
The Whitecaps have been for sale since December 2024, following the completion of their 50th anniversary season.
Since then, multiple potential ownership groups have come forward. Whitecaps CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster said in November 2025 that just over 100 such groups had expressed initial interest.
Of that initial 100 groups, between 30 and 40 moved to the next stage, which required NDAs for the Whitecaps to open their financial books. No group has ever moved beyond this stage.
#SavetheCaps on site at FIFA Congress
A small, but committed and passionate group of various Whitecaps supporters’ group members arrived at Thursday’s FIFA Congress at the Vancouver Convention Centre to protest any potential relocation plans.
At the time of their gathering, the news about Gustavson’s group had not yet been made public.
Supporters sang recognizable Whitecaps songs and chants and held signs declaring their love for the club and their desire to keep them in Vancouver.
Yesterday B.C. Premier David Eby, in a video released to social media, said the province is working hard to keep the Whitecaps in Vancouver.
“We are working hard to save the Whitecaps,” the premier said in his video. “For 50 years, the Whitecaps have been part of the fabric of British Columbia, from the ’79 championship and the 100,000 fans who paraded downtown to 2011 when they joined MLS … the Whitecaps are British Columbia.”
Vancouver mayor speaks at FIFA Congress
News of the Las Vegas bid broke during the FIFA Congress. MLS Commissioner was in attendance, but he declined to speak to media as he made his way through the press zone after its completion.
Vancouver mayor Ken Sim did stop to speak briefly. He mentioned that he sat beside Garber during the congress and that other groups have come forward over the last 48 hours with interest. He also mentioned that additional sites have been identified for a potential Whitecaps stadium.
“We’re just working really hard to make sure we give Vancouver Whitecaps every opportunity to keep the ‘Caps in Vancouver,” he said.
Sim said concern for the Whitecaps started well before the Las Vegas bid ever materialized and that it does not change the work the city is doing with the club.
“I don’t want to give anyone false hope, because we do have a hill to climb.”
With a file from AFTN
