Vancouver Whitecaps announced as next team to MLS, Portland Timbers to be announced Friday, Seattle Sounders already an MLS success story

The USL is losing the Cascadian connection to its league and with it three of the more successful clubs in its history. Major League Soccer announced on Wednesday that as speculated for weeks, the Vancouver Whitecaps will be the next team to move into the top tiered soccer league in the US and Canada. The move will come in 2011. There were also rumors flying on Wednesday that the Portland Timbers will be the next expansion team for MLS with a date of 2011 as well. This would leave no remaining USL teams west of the Minnesota Thunder and the Austin Aztex.

The Seattle Sounders, also a former USL team and part of the Cascadian threesome, have had the best start of any MLS expansion club in regard to tickets sales and sponsors. So far the Sounders have sold over 20,000 season tickets and their home opener for Thursday is sold out. The team have secured over 30 sponsors, another landmark that no other MLS team can match.

The team owners had other ideas for names of the Seattle MLS franchise but the backlash was so great that they posted a team naming contest. The Sounders were not one of the names on the ballot, but there were so many write in votes that the organization had to acknowledge the Sounders name which goes back to the old North American Soccer League (NASL)  days. In a country with so little soccer history, is it any wonder the fans wanted the legendary name. This is a lesson MLS should learn from but instead the league, who are very good at marketing themselves, sadly seem to shy away from comparisons to the historic NASL which is truly the forerunner to MLS.

Seattle kicks off their inaugural MLS season tonight at home against the New York Red Bulls.

Here is the press release from MLS

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER AWARDS VANCOUVER EXPANSION TEAM FOR 2011

March 18, 2009
NEW YORK – Vancouver, British Columbia, will be the home of Major League Soccer’s 17th team, MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced today. The Vancouver MLS team will begin play in 2011 at the newly-renovated BC Place Stadium in the city’s downtown entertainment district. The venue will undergo approximately $365 million CDN in improvements before the new MLS team takes to the field, and will have a seamless 20,000-seat soccer-specific configuration.

The Vancouver ownership group consists of Greg Kerfoot, Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett, and Steve Nash. Kerfoot is the owner of Vancouver Whitecaps FC and former CEO of Crystal Decisions Software. Luczo is president, CEO, and chairman of the board for Seagate Technology and part owner of the National Basketball Association’s Boston Celtics. Mallett is part owner of Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants and is the former president and COO of Yahoo! Nash – a guard for the NBAs Phoenix Suns – is a two-time NBA MVP, and along with Mallett, is an investor in Women’s Professional Soccer.

“We are thrilled to welcome Vancouver into Major League Soccer for the 2011 season,” Garber said. “The ownership team of Greg Kerfoot, Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett, and Steve Nash love the game and represent a new breed of ownership group. Our new Vancouver team also provides an attractive stadium plan and a market with a rich soccer tradition.”

Tomorrow marks the start of the 2009 MLS season and the long-awaited inaugural game for Seattle Sounders FC, who are a geographic rival for Vancouver. More than 32,000 fans will witness the historic match against the New York Red Bulls at 9 p.m. EDT on ESPN2.

Vancouver will have the second MLS team in Canada following the successful launch of Toronto FC in 2007. Toronto FC has sold out every home game, capped season tickets at 16,000, and has a season-ticket waiting list of over 14,000. Vancouver also has a proven track record of supporting soccer. In November 2007, the Whitecaps United Soccer Leagues First Division team played in front of over 48,000 fans at BC Place when they hosted the Los Angeles Galaxy.

”British Columbians are excited about hosting a Major League Soccer team in a newly-renovated BC Place Stadium beginning in 2011,” said Premier Gordon Campbell. “The Vancouver Whitecaps have been a part of our province’s history for more than three decades. As an MLS team, the Whitecaps organization will carry on that incredible tradition, as well as generate economic benefits of up to $25 million each season.”

The renovations to BC Place include new seating, concessions, washrooms, hospitality areas, field surface, improved access for persons with disabilities, the redevelopment of all common spaces, and a significant reduction in the building’s energy consumption. The defining features will include the first centrally-hung electronic scoreboard and retractable roof in MLS – an engineering marvel that uses the same technology found at Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt, Germany, which is the home of Eintracht Frankfurt of the German Bundesliga.

“This is a great win for the province of British Columbia and the city of Vancouver,” said Mallett. “Major League Soccer is North America’s premier soccer league and offers exceptional skill and entertainment. We have a world-class stadium that will be packed with cheering, singing, and chanting Vancouver supporters.”

Vancouver Whitecaps FC will continue to field a USL-1 team during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. MLS plans to announce another expansion team, its 18th, in the near future.

“The city of Vancouver and the Whitecaps have a rich and storied soccer history, which includes long-standing rivalries with Toronto and Seattle,” said Vancouver Whitecaps FC president Bob Lenarduzzi. “The successful bid for a Major League Soccer franchise offers a whole new level of opportunity for our organization, and by extension, for our city and our province.”