KEN SIM’S MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PROPOSAL A DISTRACTION FROM DISMAL RECORD, SAYS TEAM FOR A LIVABLE VANCOUVER

TEAM would instead push for Vancouver to become the home of the WNBA

VANCOUVER (April 21, 2026)—TEAM for a Livable Vancouver has a better idea than Ken Sim’s billion-dollar scheme to bring Major League Baseball to Vancouver.

Instead of a team that will require a new billion-dollar stadium, TEAM proposes bringing in the WNBA. Women’s basketball is increasingly popular, ready to expand, and the existing Rogers Arena will fit it just fine.

The idea comes from TEAM City Council candidate Charles Kelly, who has extensive experience in the business and sports world. It’s an example of how to be both practical and innovative in expanding our city’s entertainment offerings – without reaching deeper and deeper into citizens’ pockets.

In contrast, Ken Sim’s idea is an example of how to ignore fiscal reality and citizens’ ability to pay. The “shiny keys” of Major League Baseball are his desperate attempt to distract Vancouverites from his dismal performance in office, just in time for this fall’s election.

“As the former president of the Vancouver Baseball Club, I’ve spent a lot of years around the diamond,” Kelly says. “I know when something’s a clean hit and when it’s a swing‑and‑a‑miss. And this idea is a swing‑and‑a‑miss.”

He says BC Place Stadium doesn't meet Major League Baseball’s strict standards and can’t be retrofitted to meet them. “That means Vancouver would be on the hook for billions to build a brand-new stadium from the ground up. And that’s money that won’t be going toward making our city safer, repairing our community centres, or fixing the core services families rely on every day.”

Kelly says the whole conversation feels like a distraction intended to pull eyes away from Sim’s record. “Ken Sim claims he wants to 'get back to basics,' but this proves that yet again, his words don't match his actions.

“TEAM believes in keeping our eye on the ball. That means putting residents first, making sure Vancouverites are taken care of, and focusing on the basics before we start spending money we simply don’t have.”