Formal offer made to relocate Vancouver Whitecaps to Las Vegas: report

A formal offer has been submitted to relocate the Vancouver Whitecaps, the city's Major League Soccer team, to Las Vegas, according to a report.

The Athletic cited multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, as well as a statement from billionaire Grant Gustavson, in its report.

The team, which is up for sale, has claimed for over a year that it faces significant revenue challenges in Vancouver despite success on the pitch.

In particular, the Whitecaps say that their current stadium — B.C. Place in downtown Vancouver — does not allow it to generate enough revenue. The stadium is owned by the province, through the Crown corporation PavCo.

The Whitecaps relocating from Vancouver would leave a 'devastating hole'

CBC News received a statement from Gustavson, who said that he was fronting an investor group that had submitted a bid for a Las Vegas MLS team to the league office.

"The investment group will privately finance this endeavor," the statement reads, adding details of the proposal wouldn't be shared as the league deliberates the offer.

Responding to the report on Thursday, B.C. Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon said the province hadn't seen the Las Vegas proposal — and that officials met with MLS commissioner Don Garber on Wednesday as relocation talks heat up.

"It was a a good exchange. We asked the commissioner to play a role to bring parties together ... so that we can have the same goal, which is to keep the Whitecaps here in Vancouver," Kahlon told reporters.

"I'm hoping that that meeting and that dialogue from that meeting was genuine," he added. "And if they have already made a decision to move the team, I'd rather they just tell us."

CBC News has reached out to the Whitecaps and MLS for this story, but did not