Vancouver mayor explains the need for a City-led bid process for an MLB team | Daily Hive

Vancouver mayor explains the need for a City-led bid process to pursue an Major League Baseball expansion team

Summer 2025 construction process on the expansion and renovation of Nat Bailey Stadium, home of the Vancouver Canadians. (Vancouver Canadians)

Vancouver could be stepping up to the plate in the pursuit of a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise, after Mayor Ken Sim announced Tuesday he will introduce a member motion next week seeking Vancouver City Council approval to launch a bidding process led by the municipal government aimed at formally gauging interest from prospective ownership groups.

When asked by Daily Hive Urbanized on Wednesday why the City of Vancouver would initiate a formal bidding process, Sim emphasized both the urgency and opportunity.

He pointed to signals from MLB leadership that expansion could occur before 2029 — a rare window that may not reopen for decades. The league is looking to add two franchises, growing its size from 30 to 32 teams.

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“Expansion doesn’t happen very often,” said Sim, noting that the last major expansion period occurred in the early 1990s. “If Vancouver isn’t part of this one, it could be another 30 years.”

The mayor framed the proposed motion as a proactive step to ensure Vancouver is competitive in what is expected to be a highly selective process.

According to Sim, “very credible parties” have already expressed interest in bringing a franchise to Vancouver, prompting the need for a transparent and structured approach. This suggests Sim’s ambitious pitch is not coming out of nowhere.

Rather than relying on informal discussions, the City would identify and evaluate all potential ownership groups through an open bidding process.

“We want a clear and transparent process where we can identify not only just individuals that have approached us, but other individuals who may have an interest who haven’t approached us yet, because we want a very successful bid to come through Vancouver that will help win,” said the mayor.

Sim also addressed the proposed municipal government involvement in the process, explaining that MLB expansion criteria go beyond ownership finances. One key factor, he said, is the relationship between a prospective team and its host city.

“One of the criteria for Major League Baseball is they ask beyond the ownership group, ‘What is the relationship with the city that you’re proposing to have a team in?’ And so that’s going to be the big question that has to be answered. So we might as well try to answer it now to take that out of the realm of things that stop us from getting a bid,” said Sim.

By launching the bidding process early, the City would strengthen any eventual proposal and eliminate uncertainties that could hinder Vancouver’s chances.

Sim highlighted the potential benefits of securing an MLB franchise. He described it as an opportunity to create jobs, boost local excitement, and provide affordable entertainment for families.

“It will be a winner on multiple levels,” he said.

Sim also made the case that Vancouver holds a distinct edge over other expansion candidates. He pointed to the city’s geographic and cultural positioning as a “gateway to Asia,” which could help MLB grow its global presence.

“If you look at professional sports teams now, at least they are looking to increase their global footprint. So, Vancouver actually has some very significant advantages that will be very appealing to Major League Baseball. So let’s let this process flesh out, and we’re excited to be part of it,” he said.

While acknowledging that the process is still in its early stages, Sim expressed confidence in Vancouver’s potential to compete.

“It’s still early stages, but our administration, we believe that Vancouver is an incredible city and we can do big things,” he added.

Ahead of City Council’s scheduled debate and decision on Sim’s motion on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, the full text of the motion was published today.

The mayor’s motion calls on City Council to formally declare its support for bringing an MLB expansion franchise to Vancouver and to direct City staff to initiate a competitive Expression of Interest (EOI) bidding process.

Interested parties would be required to demonstrate financial capacity, relevant experience, and a feasible ownership and governance model, in addition to proposing the terms of their relationship with the City.

Then, within 60 days of initiating the process, City staff would return to City Council with recommendations, including a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) setting out a potential partnership framework. If the process is launched soon after City Council’s decision next week, City staff could potentially return to City Council as early as sometime early this summer — just before the municipal government’s August break and the start of the campaign cycle for the October 2026 civic election.

In December 2025, the City and the MLS’s Vancouver Whitecaps FC also signed an MOU to explore a long-term lease of the Hastings Racecourse site for its redevelopment into a new soccer stadium and an accompanying entertainment district. This is deemed to be a key step to help improve the Whitecaps’ long-term financial and economic viability and prevent the franchise from leaving the city. The aim is to reach a ground lease agreement between the municipal government and the club by no later than the end of 2026, which includes the stadium design concept, financial terms, and community benefits of the development.

Of course, a modern stadium venue for a Vancouver MLB team would be one of the most important and expensive pieces of the scheme, with multibillion-dollar investments needed for both the MLB expansion fee and the construction cost of possibly building a brand-new stadium. This would likely require one of the largest private sector investments in Metro Vancouver’s history.

When asked by Daily Hive Urbanized on fulfilling suitable stadium needs and the possibility of a drastic revamp of BC Place Stadium, the mayor said the bidding process will require the prospective groups to “come up with their own thoughts” and that the City “will definitely work with potential bidders to flesh out and look at what the best options are, not only for a winning bid, but also what serves the residents of Vancouver and creates an incredible opportunity.”

The provincial government owns and operates BC Place Stadium through Crown corporation PavCo. The 1983-built venue was originally designed for MLB, and it has held a few MLB exhibition games throughout its history, but it is essentially considered obsolete when modern MLB venue standards are taken into consideration. There are also major challenges with both the low clearance of the centre-suspended scoreboard and the height of the retractable roof.

On Tuesday, when asked by Daily Hive Urbanized to react to Sim’s announcement, B.C. Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth Ravi Kahlon said the provincial government is interested in hearing more about the proposal.

“There are a lot of baseball fans in B.C. — we understand people’s passion and excitement, and appreciate the MLB’s interest in Vancouver. We will support this process where it is possible and appropriate,” said Kahlon.

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