By Pearl Josephine Nazare
VANCOUVER, July 8 (Reuters) - After Vancouver's final World Cup match at a packed BC Place on Tuesday capped weeks of sold-out crowds and city-wide soccer fever, attention is turning to whether the showpiece tournament can help secure the long-term future of the Vancouver Whitecaps.
The Major League Soccer club face an uncertain future as ownership seeks a buyer amid longstanding concerns over revenue and the team's tenancy at provincially owned BC Place. In April, a U.S.-based
group formally expressed interest in relocating the franchise to Las Vegas.
Yet for supporters fighting to keep the Whitecaps in Vancouver, the World Cup has provided new evidence of the city's appetite for elite soccer.
"A team should never be moved anyway, but especially from a city that's hosting a World Cup," Vancouver Southsiders President and Secretary Ciaran Nicoll told Reuters.
Founded in 1999, the Vancouver Southsiders are the club's oldest and largest supporters' group, with around 600 paid members this year. The group has spearheaded the #SaveTheCaps campaign through marches and community outreach.
"If anybody, like a prospective buyer, is looking at buying a team and keeping them here, just look at the buzz you're able to generate," Nicoll said.
"The last couple of years have shown that we're packed at BC Place on numerous occasions - top five in the league for attendance consistently. There's such an international population that is really into soccer in the city and it really has shown during the World Cup.
"You can see just how untapped this market still is in terms of inviting these people to come and experience a Whitecaps game."
BIGGEST STAGE
For Darcie Kerr, co-founder of supporters' group The Sisters, the prospect of losing the Whitecaps after Vancouver spent a month showcasing itself on soccer's biggest stage would be difficult to justify.
Founded in 2017, The Sisters were created to provide a more inclusive space for women, 2SLGBTQIA+ supporters and under-represented fans within Vancouver's soccer community.
"If the club is sold and it moves to the States, it's going to leave a bad taste in more people's mouths now," Kerr said.
"I hope people are sad. I hope it's not just me, that people have come to Vancouver and enjoyed the World Cup and they've gone, 'Wow, this is amazing. How could you lose it all'?'"
The Whitecaps have been in Vancouver since 1974, winning the North American Soccer League title in 1979 and reaching both the MLS Cup final and CONCACAF Champions Cup final last season.
One of three Canadian teams in MLS, alongside Toronto FC and CF Montreal, the Whitecaps remain one of the country's most recognisable soccer brands.
The Whitecaps do not own their stadium, limiting their ability to generate revenue from matchdays and other events. Their lease at BC Place expires at the end of the year.
"A Vancouver solution remains our primary goal, and it is clear that achieving it will require the full commitment of the entire community - from government and business to the supporters and partners who have stood behind this club," the club said in a statement last month.
Vancouver have also been among MLS's strongest teams this season, leading the Western Conference with 32 points from 14 matches with former Germany forward Thomas Mueller among their ranks.
"The Whitecaps are central to the identity of sport here and it's not just at the professional level," Nicoll said.
"The Whitecaps fund, directly and indirectly, opportunities for tens of thousands of kids to play soccer across the province. There are far-reaching impacts that aren't always seen when you just look at the club itself."
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Vancouver, editing by Ed Osmond)
