{"id":835769,"date":"2026-07-30T11:32:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T11:32:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/835769\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T11:32:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T11:32:38","slug":"vancouver-picks-preferred-partner-for-major-league-baseball-expansion-bid-nanaimonewsnow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/835769\/","title":{"rendered":"Vancouver picks preferred partner for Major League Baseball expansion bid | NanaimoNewsNOW"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Mayor Ken Sim launched an expression-of-interest process this spring seeking a qualified ownership group with the financial capacity and experience to advance an MLB bid.<\/p>\n<p>\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783590790_152_indicator-big.gif\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told Sportsnet in October that another Canadian city in the league could work, when he was asked about adding a team in Vancouver.<\/p>\n<p>The league has not announced plans to expand, although Manfred has previously said he hopes MLB will grow from 30 to 32 teams before his planned retirement in 2029.<\/p>\n<p>The city said council had directed staff to enter a memorandum of understanding with The Show Vancouver to establish the collaboration framework, \u201cincluding due diligence for potential ballpark sites.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTSV will be responsible for all costs and financial risks associated with preparing and advancing its MLB bid,\u201d the city said.<\/p>\n<p>It added that the city would collaborate with TSV as it explored a potential expansion bid, and any future project agreements, including site selection and land-use decisions, would be subject to council approval.<\/p>\n<p>BC Place Stadium hosted several Major League Baseball exhibition series between 1984 and 1994, featuring the Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners and Montreal Expos. <\/p>\n<p>However, a $500-million renovation completed in 2011, including a centre-hung scoreboard and cable-supported retractable roof, eliminated the stadium\u2019s ability to host baseball.<\/p>\n<p>The Show Vancouver is partnering with BRS Sports, a sports marketing and analytics company, whose principals include former NHL executive Jac Sperling, sports venue consultant Tim Romani and Denver real estate executive Ray Baker.<\/p>\n<p>The group said it has retained ballpark architecture firm Populous, project management firm CAA Icon and architecture and design firm Gensler to help develop the proposal.<\/p>\n<p>The group\u2019s announcement included endorsements from Greater Vancouver Board of Trade president Bridgitte Anderson and former B.C. premier Mike Harcourt.<\/p>\n<p>Vancouver is currently home to the Vancouver Canadians, the Blue Jays\u2019 single-A affiliate, which plays at the 6,500-seat Nat Bailey Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMLB in Vancouver will showcase our city\u2019s global character to the world,\u201d said Ross. \u201cBut first and foremost, this is a community asset, and we will always act as its steward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mayor Ken Sim launched an expression-of-interest process this spring seeking a qualified ownership group with the financial capacity&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":835770,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[879,49,48,2467,2461,2468,2460,2462,2463,44,2464,2465,2466,82,55],"class_list":["post-835769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vancouver","tag-breaking-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-central-vancouver-island","tag-nanaimo","tag-nanaimo-breaking-news","tag-nanaimo-news","tag-nanaimo-news-now","tag-nanaimonewsnow","tag-news","tag-oceanside","tag-parksville","tag-qualicum","tag-sports","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=835769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/835770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=835769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=835769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=835769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}