The Whitecaps of Vancouver are up for sale.
Steve Luczo, former NBA player Steve Nash, executive chair Jeff Mallett, and majority shareholder Greg Kerfoot are among the MLS team’s owners. They announced on Friday that they had hired Goldman Sachs to help with the process. In January, Sportico placed the club’s valuation at $470 million, ranking it 27th out of the league’s 29 teams.
A person with knowledge of the situation said that estate planning was the reason behind the sale. Both Kerfoot and Luczo, who are in their mid-to-late 60s, have started to decide what of their assets may be sold and what their families may preserve. Sports clubs frequently sell for this reason, especially when valuations continue to rise and the cost of maintaining the assets.
The Whitecaps’ history began with the first North American Soccer League in 1973. For almost $30 million, Kerfoot purchased the squad in November 2002. According to the announcement, the team was “deeply in debt,” and three workers were based out of Kerfoot’s house. Kerfoot led the transition to MLS following a few years of success in the USL. At that time, the ownership group also grew. The Whitecaps started playing in 2011 after being named the 17th MLS team in 2009.
The club has had trouble finding consistent success on the field. The Whitecaps have made it to the postseason three times in the last four years since entering MLS, however they have only won one playoff round since 2017. According to Sportico’s figures, revenue in 2023 was approximately $45 million, which was the second-lowest amount in MLS. In the 54,000-seat BC Place, the team drew an average of roughly 26,700 spectators per game, which was the seventh-highest attendance figure in the league.
Be the first to comment