First-place Vancouver Whitecaps, SDFC's Saturday opponent, may be headed to Las Vegas
If players from the first-place Vancouver Whitecaps, San Diego FC's opponent Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium, need some sage advice about playing in one city ahead of an impending move to another, they can venture down the freeway to Petco Park and ask baseball's Athletics, in town for a three-game series against the Padres.
The A's are moving to Las Vegas in 2028.
The Whitecaps might already be there by then.
The Major League Soccer club from Canada has been for sale since 2024, but things took a left turn three weeks ago when Grant Gustavson, a USC alum with a mother worth an estimated $8.6 billion, placed a formal bid for the 2025 MLS Cup finalists with the intention of moving them to a desolate landscape without whitecaps.
The NHL, with the expansion Golden Knights in 2017, was the first major pro league to put down stakes in the desert as views toward sports gambling, legal and otherwise, shifted. Since then, the NFL's Raiders and WNBA's Aces have relocated there from other cities. The A's are following the Raiders from Oakland, awaiting the construction of a $2 billion stadium. The NBA might not be far behind, with the board of governors recently authorizing the league to "explore" expansion opportunities there as soon as 2028.
MLS has increasingly eyed Sin City as well. It was a finalist for the 30-team league's last expansion slot that San Diego FC ultimately was granted in 2023, although with different prospective owners.
"Las Vegas is known the world over as a welcoming destination for millions of people each year," Gustavson said in a statement, "and has a growing, passionate community of soccer fans. The investment group will privately finance this endeavor and is not connected to any of the recently announced arena ideas in Las Vegas."
The Whitecaps owners shrugged with a what-did-you-expect statement referencing their financial struggles, saying:
"The club has faced well-documented structural challenges around stadium economics, venue access and revenue limitations that have made it difficult to attract buyers committed to keeping the team in Vancouver. Over the past 16 months, we have had serious conversations with more than 100 parties, and to date, no viable offer has emerged that would keep the club here.
"If there is a local ownership group with the vision and resources to chart a path forward, we urge them to come forward."
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It's no mystery that clubs in MLS, even in its 30th season, still bleed tens of millions of dollars annually. A number of factors condemn the Whitecaps to even more red ink - they've suffered more than $300 million in losses, according to Bloomberg, since joining the league in 2011.
Most notable is an unfavorable stadium lease with BC Place, a 54,000-seat facility opened in 1983 that originally was domed but since has installed a retractable roof. It is owned by the province of British Columbia, and the Whitecaps are mere tenants without scheduling priority.
That forced the embarrassment of moving a home playoff game to Portland in 2024 because of a conflict with a motocross event. The club receives only 12.5% of concessions and no parking in a league where many teams own their stadiums and get all of it. (SDFC leases Snapdragon Stadium but keeps all parking and 80% of concessions in exchange for $200,000 rent per match.)
But it's more than the venue. There are higher Canadian taxes, poor currency exchange with the U.S. dollar, more restrictive advertising regulations in some key categories, fewer financial incentives for new stadium construction - all the while having MLS' fourth-highest payroll at $23.8 million. The club's Forbes valuation ranks 28th in the 30-team league at $460 million.
The Whitecaps have opened their books to prospective local buyers. One look, and they politely pass.
"This isn't an easy problem to solve," CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster told media earlier this month. "If it were an easy problem to solve, we probably would have solved it. … Even a new stadium, it's like the same discussion we have with BC Place: It can't solve everything."
The reaction to Gustavson's offer was about what you'd expect for one of the oldest continuously operated soccer clubs in North America - one that currently has the Western Conference's best record and ranks 10th in the league in average announced attendance.
Fans protested outside the FIFA Congress in Vancouver. A "Save the Caps" movement was launched and "Hands off our Whitecaps" banners were unfurled. Municipal, provincial and federal leaders frantically convened meetings and released statements. More than 400 area businesses signed a letter expressing support.
"To all Vancouver Whitecaps fans, to the Southsiders and all the supporters groups, we need you to keep the fight going," Vancouver mayor Ken Sim said. "We need you to stay strong, and we need you to stay loud. Losing the Whitecaps is not an option."
It remains to be seen whether Las Vegas is an inevitable reality or the latest performative exercise by a pro sports league to extract more concessions (and tax dollars) from a local municipality. Do finances or sentiment win out?
Numbers or nostalgia?
"We are open to all solutions," Schuster said, "from A, B, C, D, all the way to X and Y. … And now that is more real because there is a Z solution."
In the meantime, the Whitecaps keep winning despite not playing at home since the news of Gustavson's bid broke April 30, part of an endless road trip while FIFA takes control of BC Place ahead of seven World Cup matches there this summer. Last Saturday's loss at Houston ended a seven-match unbeaten streak.
"I think the players are able to focus on the day-to-day, because there are just so many things that are outside their control," said SDFC coach Mikey Varas, whose team lost 3-1 against the Whitecaps in the Western Conference final last season. "The fans and the city are really behind the team. I think that helps a lot. When they see the fans are behind them, I think they go, ‘OK, we're just going to play as hard as we can. … If this our last run here, let's make sure it's one to remember.'
"That can also create a huge sense of motivation. We all look for these kind of storylines. They're flying right now."
Maybe they're onto something. The A's are in first place, too.
San Diego FC (4-5-5) vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (9-2-2)
When: 6:30 p.m., today
Where: Snapdragon Stadium
Streaming: AppleTV
Radio: 760-AM
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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 5:07 PM.