Garber pushes to keep Whitecaps in Vancouver as Las Vegas emerges as MLS opportunity

SEATTLE — Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber made one thing clear Friday: MLS wants the Vancouver Whitecaps to remain in Vancouver.

Whether that happens may ultimately determine how quickly Las Vegas enters the league.

Speaking before the United States' 2-0 victory over Australia in the FIFA World Cup at Lumen Field, Garber repeatedly stressed that MLS is committed to finding a long-term solution in Vancouver while acknowledging that Las Vegas remains an attractive market as questions continue to swirl about the Whitecaps' future.

The comments come amid reports that Las Vegas businessman Grant Gustavson is leading an investor group that has submitted a formal offer to purchase the Whitecaps and relocate the club to Southern Nevada. According to ESPN, the proposal includes plans for a soccer-specific stadium and a temporary venue until a permanent home is completed.

Garber did not directly address the reported bid but acknowledged that Las Vegas remains firmly on MLS' radar.

"I think we've got a great, passionate, well-heeled owner that has an option on an unbelievably attractive piece of land," Garber said. "He represents a young, new era of MLS team ownership. I'd like to see us be able to make a deal, get a deal done there."

Garber did not identify the ownership group. However, his comments arrive as Las Vegas continues its rapid transformation into a major-league sports destination after landing franchises in the NFL, NHL, WNBA and Major League Baseball with the Athletics moving into their new stadium in 2028. The NBA is in the midst of talking tp prospective ownership groups for an expansion franchise that could land there by 2028 as well.  

For now, however, the commissioner's focus remains on Vancouver.

"We're committed to keeping the team there if we have a viable stadium project, which we don't have now," Garber said. "I'd love to find a solution."

Garber spent time in Vancouver on Thursday during Canada's World Cup match and met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, British Columbia Premier David Eby and local stakeholders involved in efforts to secure the club's future.

He said he left more encouraged than he was several months ago.

"I'm a little more hopeful," Garber said. "The corporate community that's not been very supportive of the club is now recognizing what soccer and what the Whitecaps actually mean to the city."

The commissioner said the Whitecaps' biggest challenge remains their stadium situation at BC Place, where the club lacks the level of control MLS teams typically enjoy.

"We are a very relevant club that doesn't have a good business model," Garber said. "You can't be sustainable with an old stadium that doesn't have a good connection with the team."

He later described the current arrangement as untenable.

"We've got to get a lease where we're not working the entire MLS schedule around the dates that we get from BC Place," Garber said. "Imagine the NFL having one stadium telling them, 'Here are your 18 days.' It's unsustainable."

Garber pointed to the successful effort to keep the Columbus Crew in Ohio as proof that a solution can be found if political leaders, business executives and ownership groups align behind a common goal.

"We want to keep the team there," Garber said. "But we can't do that unless political influencers and their entities put together something that will allow Vancouver to not be at the bottom of the list."

He also acknowledged that time is becoming a factor.

"Time is an enemy to any deal," Garber said. "The longer it waits, the more people get distracted, they lose interest and move on."

While the Vancouver-Las Vegas dynamic generated some of the most notable news from Garber's media session, the commissioner spent much of his time reflecting on what he believes is a watershed moment for soccer in North America.

Nearly three decades after taking over MLS, Garber said the 2026 World Cup is validating the league's long-term vision.

"When I took this job almost 28 years ago, I had this thought that if we could turn this country into a soccer nation that really believes and cares and is emotionally connected to the sport, then decades later we would have achieved something special," Garber said.

Garber has traveled extensively during the opening week of the tournament and said the scenes he has witnessed across North America have exceeded even his expectations.

"I've been telling everybody since we got this bid in 2018 that this country is going to show the rest of the world how we believe in the sport," Garber said. "To see crowds and crowds and crowds of people, whether it's a U.S. game or it's a Brazil game or it's a Canada match, is emotionally pleasing."

He credited MLS clubs with helping build the soccer culture now on display throughout the World Cup, singling out the Seattle Sounders for their role in transforming perceptions of professional soccer in the United States.

"MLS isn't what it is without the Sounders," Garber said. "Seattle was the boost that showed the world that MLS can be a popular, viable and meaningful soccer team in the United States."

Garber also expressed optimism about the United States men's national team's performance under Mauricio Pochettino. Entering Friday's match against Australia, the Americans had already generated significant excitement following their convincing World Cup-opening victory over Paraguay.

"I hope our team continues to lift up our country," Garber said.

One moment that particularly resonated with him came when he encountered members of the Boston Red Sox wearing U.S. Soccer apparel while arriving at his hotel.

"Think about that," Garber said. "Why would a baseball team support a soccer team? That's what we have going on here now. That's what the World Cup did."

For MLS, Garber said the challenge after the tournament will not be attracting people to soccer but converting World Cup fans into supporters of local clubs.

"We don't have to build a market," Garber said. "The market's there. It's up to us to convert it."

Whether that future ultimately includes a revitalized Whitecaps franchise in Vancouver, a new club in Las Vegas or some combination of both could become one of MLS' biggest post-World Cup storylines. For now, Garber insists Vancouver remains the priority. But his comments made clear that Las Vegas is waiting in the wings if a solution north of the border cannot be found.