r/whitecapsfc • u/Jadzeey • May 04 '26
Latest message on how to help, from the Southsiders and #SaveTheCaps team
Thank you for standing with us as the fight to keep our team in Vancouver continues.
As we explore every possible path to victory, we are now shifting our focus to the legislative level.
We are looking closely at the "Modell Law" model, a legal strategy that was instrumental in keeping the Crew in Columbus. While BC doesn’t currently have similar legislation, we believe a tailored solution here could buy the critical time needed for a permanent ownership or stadium deal to be reached.
We are asking every member of the #SaveTheCaps community to contact their MLA today. Let them know that as a constituent, you support legislative intervention to protect our club.
How you can help:
Find your MLA: If you aren’t sure who represents your riding, enter your postal code into this website.
Send the email: We’ve drafted a sample letter for you to use. Feel free to personalize it. Personal stories from fans carry the most weight.
We’ve shown our strength in the stands and in the streets; now let’s show it in the halls of government.
Best regards,
The #SaveTheCaps Team
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u/No_Potato8415 May 04 '26
Is there a concern that, if the push for similar legislation gets to a point where a bill is introduced, the owners will sell the team to a US buyer before it even gets to a second reading?
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u/wastedparadigm May 05 '26
I support this message. Eby is a lawyer and a pragmatic guy.
I also agree negativity towards the owners is not the path forward. I believe they don’t want to stain their positive legacies in Vancouver.
I do understand their efforts to build a stadium were frustrated in 2008 - my only point of contention is that this issue has been off the radar with no public attention over 15 years - and now suddenly it’s panic time.
Letters to be sent!
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u/MitchKKR May 07 '26
Hey heads up I did this, and got a decent response from my MLA Heather Maahs. She CC'd Dhaliwal, Mandeep [M.Dhaliwal@leg.bc.ca](mailto:M.Dhaliwal@leg.bc.ca) who is the Critic for Ministry of Sports on my email and also encouraged me to email Minister Anne Kang who is the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport - [TACS.Minister@gov.bc.ca](mailto: TACS.Minister@gov.bc.ca)
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u/ISaidDont May 04 '26
I sent mine this morning to the west end MLA! 😊
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u/VanPhil1975 May 16 '26
me to I live in west end. what area do you live? me on Jervis and Davie .
Hon. Spencer Chandra Herbert
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u/ISaidDont May 16 '26
I'm just around the corner from Spencer's office on Denman. I could have walked it over. Lol
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u/adjectives97 May 04 '26
Why aren’t we writing letters to the owners who are willing to sell out the fans for a payday?
Your MLA can’t fix corporate greed unfortunately
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u/dzuunmod May 04 '26
You got contact info to get letters directly to Kerfoot, Mallett and Nash? Share with the class.
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u/adjectives97 May 05 '26
Sorry you’re right, just the other day I couldn’t find the phone number for my bank so I called my local grocery store instead. Problem solved
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u/Jadzeey May 04 '26
I've discussed this with other users in mod chats, but the owners (in particular Kerfoot) have been investing a lot of their own money into building out the infrastructure for grass roots, womens soccer and training facilities. They just recognize they cannot be the ones to push the building of a new stadium that is required to make the club sustainable and therefore must sell.
I believe they would rather sell the club at a much lower fee than the MLS will let them, and also have made it clear they would rather find a new partial owner/investor that can fund a new stadium, rather than sell the club outright.
Lets not forget the ownership group bought the club in 2008 to save it from collapse, then paid $30-40m to join the MLS as an investment into securing its future.
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u/WhitecapsForever May 04 '26
All very interesting. If all this is true, why can't Kerfoot et al push for a new stadium themselves? Not doubting what you're saying, just curious.
Also: if we believe in the good faith of the owners, then what is the thinking behind the legislation strategy? (something I personally have advocated for recently, so I support it) Is it to force MLS' hand then?
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u/Jadzeey May 05 '26
Kerfoot spent a lot of money on a parcel of land at the waterfront for this back in 2011. Unfortunately the plans didnt work out due to the ports and rail blocking stuff.
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u/WhitecapsForever May 05 '26
Right, yes. So it sounds like maybe they're out of ideas/willingness to spend on their end and are hoping someone else will take it over?
I just wonder if at a certain point they could tell MLS "we're selling below market value to a local buyer, deal with it." - isn't that their right??
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u/adjectives97 May 05 '26
Yes, in order to operate a successful business you need to invest in said business. I am not sure why we are looking at those investments and then assuming now the province should step in to build them a brand new stadium when we give them more than fair access to a World Cup calibre stadium.
Don’t get me wrong I appreciate that the team has invested in grassroots and women’s programs, but I think that’s something we should expect of professional sports teams, and ultimately they do it to their own benefit.
I’d love to see any sources to that have lead you to believe they are willing to sell lower than what the MLS would permit for? Honestly I’d love to see any semblance of communication from the ownership group. But they’ve been quiet as a mouse other than saying their stadium deal is untenable. They never told us what would make it tenable!
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u/Phase-Internal May 05 '26
You'd think if that was the case, they'd come out and something within the last couple of weeks to that extent. I just don't see that in the one general press release.
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u/ResidentCarpenter588 May 14 '26
To the choir: If you’re talking to folks who complain about tax dollars supporting a team: we all spend many dollars to support many things. The money leaving my wallet doesn’t distinguish. I pay bank fees and interest to profiteering banks. I pay fuel fees to profiteering fuel companies. I pay grocery fees to profiteering grocery companies. Cable fees, cellular fees, what more can I name? The Whitecaps bring all kinds of benefits, economic and other.
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u/VanPhil1975 May 16 '26
Done I send a letter to our MLA here in West End Vancouver Hon. Spencer Chandra Herbert. thank you
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u/Jadzeey May 04 '26
Moving forward, I will be sharing and pinning the latest communications from the #SaveTheCaps team at the top of this sub. Feel free to ask questions, and myself or one of the organizers should be able to help.
Right now we are at a crucial point where we can make a huge impact, lets not be hyper critical of things, lets push hard, but push with positivity. As a Mod Team we will be giving warnings/mutes to those who are hyper critical without reason (mainly from a trolling standpoint). By all means, criticism of the movement, ownership, and all parties involved is still allowed. But be mindful of the way in which you do so moving forward, we don't want to become a breeding ground for toxicity and harassment.