Getting back to what this thread is all about: serious bid from a Vancouver-based group dailyhive.com/vancouver/new-serious-bidder-wants-buy-whitecaps-keep-them-vancouver i am hoping for good news during the WC... a perfect time to make the announcement- hoping the born-in-Vancouver Hollywood star, passionate about soccer, and lives in Vancouver with his family, Ryan Reynolds, is part of the group as a side note, Reynolds has also been mentioned as having interest in acquiring a MLB franchise for Vancouver (i think this is a long-shot in this market)
I don't have time to sift back through the thread but I want to know if the bottom line major problem is BC Place not giving the Whitecaps what they want, what exactly will change if and when a new owner comes in and the club still has to play there? Is there anywhere else to play, other than BC Place?
What stand am I backing off from? I've been stating for a while that MLS can't add more teams from Canada now that CPL is there and that once the current MLS Canadian teams leave, if they leave, that's it, MLS won't be allowed back in. It's others here that claim, incorrectly, that MLS can do whatever it wants because "MLS".
Nobody is saying this. Nobody. Please stop strawmanning…this is a DISCUSSION board. Making stuff up to “win” is silly,
I think if the owners were open and they got involved in a public campaign to save this team vancouver would rally around them vancouver loves this team
I think billionaires can do whatever they want, if it includes spending on soccer. If the cards fall the way some have speculated and 1 or more of the Canadian teams move to the US, it doesn't shut the door on a new MLS in Canada team. If a group of dedicated investors come along and want to bring a club to Canada, but only in MLS, it's not likely that CSA, CPL, or Concacaf will step in the way. (They will probably try to extract some token concessions, but won't block it) It's bad optics if they prevent a city from getting a club in a higher level league (in reality, even though they are equal on paper) and block a major investment in the sport. Now, whether it would make business sense for MLS to accept a new Canadian club is a separate matter.
By the time MLS finds an investors with a good bid, CPL will have already expanded to take the Whitecaps' place if there's no one within the current ownership willing to expand into the city. It would be blocked by the CSA, yes there's precedent of the CSA preemptively declaring that it would deny sanctioning clubs joing a US league post moratorium in CPL markets (Calgary and Hamilton). Optics has nothing to do with it, there is an existing FIFA rule prohibiting your scenario unless there are exceptional circumstances. In your case, they don't apply - Ottawa Fury is the precedent
And where is that team going to play? If a substantially more wealthy ownership group such as the Whitecaps cannot get a stadium built what makes you believe that a group looking to get into the CPL will fare any better? Let's be honest with one another here. The economic realities of MLS and CPL are very difficult. CPL despite having a low barrier to entry has found it very difficult to get expansion teams up and running. One of the main hurdles being a proper place to play.
Where the NSL Vancouver Rise (Whitecaps owned) plays, Swangard Stadium until they either upgrade it or get something build at Empire Field just like when the Caps expanded into MLS. MLS wants grand venues from the onset, CPL accept temporary solutions conditional to playing in a proper venue. Those are Inter Toronto, Halifax Wanderers and Supra situations. Same for Quebec City expansion they are working on. At first, CPL wanted the MLS model with soccer ready venue first. CSME new CEO dropped it and Supra joined fairly quickly sharing the stadium with NSL Roses de Montréal This speaks to the incompatibility between the 2 markets. In the US, you can get those built fast - not in Canada, it takes forever. Halifax, Toronto and Quebec City already said yes but the wait until it gets done is what sets both nations apart. A Vancouver group wanting to play in CPL could start next year while an investor wanting to bring back Vancouver in MLS wouldn't be able too until the venue is ready (it would take years). So if the caps leaves, that's it for MLS in Western Canada
I can understand when it comes to lower level leagues. I do believe MLS would be different, just because the level is so much higher. If CPL were to ever stabilize and become a healthier league, things would be different. FIFA rules are, in many case, guidelines that can be bypassed if it's for the good of the game. I find it hard to believe that Canada Soccer blocking an MLS franchise would be for the good of the game. With that all being said, I think this is all hypothetical. If Vancouver moves, the chances are extremely thin that a future franchise returns, for many reasons. Toronto and Montreal aren't going anywhere imo.
If that's the case, makes way more sense to invite Liga MX than MLS, wouldn't you agree? Canada Soccer signed a strategic partnership with CSME (owned by CPL owners) which tied them financially. CPL success will now financially benefit the CSA via payouts based on an agreed formula. Why would they purposely hurt their bottom line by indirectly cap the CPL potential to benefit a foreign league? Why sanction new clubs in a league they don't control instead of ensuring the full potential of a pyramid under theirs? The winter calendar will hurt Montreal significantly. Their owner is already more invested in Serie A than MLS. Toronto FC ownership structure changed, the era of big spending will most likely end at TFC. I guess we'll see
Saying people are making stuff up because you are too lazy to read other post doesn't mean you are right. And no one is trying to win an argument.
So....again, can Liga MX start having teams in the US or would they not be allowed to? I'm sure they'll love teams in LA and several more in Texas cities. And speaking, as you say on a business sense, a Liga MX team(s) on US soil would make a lot of sense. The sponsorship deals it would have, the local TV rights, the price of tickets which will be more expensive than any Liga MX team in Mexico and all the revenue it will get from their stadium (which will more than likely be funded by the city) will make them one of the richest clubs in Liga MX. It makes a lot of sense for them to push for a team or teams in US soil and start exploiting this market even more. They are already the most popular league in the US without having teams stationed here.
Then I assume you can quote the people saying that? And you understand the context of what you're quoting so that its clear that's actually what they're saying?
right now, the Caps BC Place Stadium deal is a loser on revenue- continuing with that contract is a non-starter the far left socialist BC Government is in a serious popularity decrease (somehwere under 20%), so they and the Premier need a big boost in their image- saving the Whitecaps, especially during the WC, would have a dramatic positive affect because the Team has captured the interest and enthusiasm of the City and Province) OPTION 1- there is talk that, for the Whitecaps to stay at the world class 55K BC Place Stadium, they would need to become the managers and make sound business decisions to increase their revenue (take the major portion of the food/drinks revenue; plan major events beyond the Caps games; naming rights for the Stadium; more speciality suites; and whatever else can be schemed to increase their bottom line)-- and the new investors wouldnt need to pony up the money for a new stadium OPTION 2- there is a large piece of empty land at Hastings Park, about 5 km from the DT core- the Caps could develop an entertainment hub (30K stadium, casino, hotel, businesses, maybe even residential)- but that would double the cost for purchasing the Caps and would take up to 5 years to develop- so BC Place Stadium will still have to be used MY GUESS- Saving the Whitecaps will result in new owners in a positive stadium location- the Provincial and City governments need some positive energy
FYI- MLS president, Don Garber, is meeting the BC Premier this coming week- so things are heating up for a new Whitecap BC Place Stadium deal, at least for the next 5 years- i am expecting some positive news
The degree of unhinged vitriol in this thread suggests that yes, the Whitecaps are moving to Las Vegas.
Metro Vancouver is generally more profitable NDP than the rest of the province. Half of BC live there. They have to take into consideration if your Option 1 wouldn't alienate the other half of the province. The Whitecaps issue wouldn't affect Victoria or Fraser Valley, this is more of a Vancouver & immediate suburbs issue - areas more NDP than Conservatives. Doubtful not handing over BC Place to them would sink their reelection prospects. Last time I heard, the Province said option 1 was off the table. As for Option 2, this is the heart of the matter. Doable but the franchise will be bleeding cash until the new venue is ready. Who's willing to buy the team at an inflated value, finance a new venue AND bleed money the entire time to keep them in Vancouver? The buying price would have to be lower, something MLS would never allow at the risk of devaluing the rest of the league
The Whitecaps said it themselves, a new BC Place deal won't solve their problems. One way or another, they are selling.
That first quote that unattributed doesn't say anything about MLS being above FIFA. The second one does, but then continues to provide that context I was referring to. It in fact explicitly states that MLS isn't special, that FIFA is weak compared to the leagues. Now I'm not sure I agree, but that's a far cry from your claim that people are saying "MLS can do whatever it wants because "MLS"". The statement in the second quote is that "FIFA isn't powerful enough to stop leagues doing what they want" but its nothing about MLS being unique like that.