Does Vancouver have the appetite for an MLB team? Critics doubt mayor’s proposal

Listen to this article

Estimated 3 minutes

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.

As Mayor Ken Sim puts forward a motion seeking to attract a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise to Vancouver, critics are doubtful the city can put forward an attractive enough business case and sustain a new franchise.

Sim said in a statement that the motion, set to come before council next week, would direct city staff to “launch an expression of interest process to identify a qualified ownership group” capable of advancing a bid for an MLB club.

But critics say the proposal ignores the reality of professional sports in Vancouver — which already saw the NBA’s Vancouver Grizzlies depart to Memphis, and the Vancouver Whitecaps soccer team facing struggles of its own.

In addition, one mayoral candidate says significant taxpayer expenditures would be needed to construct a new stadium for the team — something that he sees as unlikely in the current environment.

A Black man who is bald speaks to a person off camera. — Green Party Coun. Pete Fry, who is running for mayor against Sim, said he questions whether the city can sustain an MLB team. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

Pete Fry, a current Green Party councillor who will challenge Sim in October’s municipal election, said the mayor’s proposal was simply an election gambit.

“Certainly, we have no shortage of really important expenditures in the City of Vancouver,” Fry said. “Is this the best bang for our buck?

“We didn’t have much luck with an NBA team and certainly Montreal couldn’t sustain a Major League Baseball team. So I don’t know,” he added.

Stadium struggles

Vancouver already has a professional baseball team — the Vancouver Canadians, the Toronto Blue Jays’ High-A Minor League affiliate who play at Nat Bailey Stadium.

The stadium, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, holds around 6,500 people. Fry noted that it needs significant renovation, and it’s unclear how much taxpayers would be paying for that.

An aerial view of a baseball stadium with cars around it. — Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver plays host to a professional baseball team, and it is in need of renovation. Fry argues that a Major League Baseball team would demand a much bigger facility to sustain itself. (Gian Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

B.C.’s biggest stadium, B.C. Place in downtown Vancouver, hosted several MLB exhibition series between 1984 and 1994.

However, a $500-million renovation in 2011 — including a centre-hung scoreboard and a cable-supported retractable roof — has made the 54,000-seat stadium less suitable for baseball.

Fry said it’s likely any new MLB team will demand a new stadium, which he said would be unlikely in a province that is fiscally constrained and is already committing millions to the upcoming FIFA World Cup.