One of two things could happen next year when the Vancouver MLS team joins in the fun (along side Portland of course). Either BMO the main sponsor of Toronto FC drops them to sponsor Vancouver or they decide to sponsor both.

Honestly looking at it the latter of the two will likely happen. Thanks to a WVH reader Ethan for sending in this link earlier (the bit I’m referring to is at the end of the article). Vancouver is already looking for a kit sponsor to go on their new adidas jerseys next year.

Lenarduzzi said BMO -a major Whitecaps sponsor -wants to bid on the team’s MLS jersey sponsorship.

“I think they have really liked the success they’ve had with Toronto FC and to have that exposure in both the east and west would be good for their brand,” he said.

BMO looking to expand their footprint as a sponsor in Canada and in MLS is a good thing though I know some in Vancouver are hoping for an even bigger sponsor to rival Seattle’s jersey sponsor X-Box 360. Seattle gets about $4 million a year from that deal with Microsoft, while Toronto only brings in between $1 and 1.5 million from BMO.

Maybe a bidding war for their jersey sponsorship would be a fun thing to watch for the new club.

We learned earlier this morning about Portland’s stadium upgrades that will soon be coming but what about their MLS expansion mates Vancouver? Well it turns out they probably won’t be playing in BC Place right away in 2011 but instead will be in a temporary venue.

They will (along with CFL side BC Lions) play at Empire Field’s temporary stadium as seen above.

The temporary stadium is expected to seat around 26,000, with covered stands, and will also feature luxury suites.

Yes, this is a temporary stadium. Honestly I don’t know the location of this stadium in regards to downtown Vancouver but damn this seems like a good option to have for Vancouver, even if it will be playing on FieldTurf (yes another new club coming in with that stuff).

I won’t lie either, this temporary digs looks better than some current stadiums in MLS.

For those who love tradition you can rest a little easier tonight. When Vancouver enters Major League Soccer in 2011 they will come in as their normal self, as the Vancouver Whitecaps.

“We are fully behind continuing the Whitecaps name,” said co-owner Jeff Mallett.

In fact they will keep the name in any league that they have a club in according to Mallett, even in the new breakaway league called the NASL.

The Whitecaps are also set to reveal an updated logo and uniforms next May as well.

My bet on this news means the club is looking quickly to get a kit sponsor for their new jerseys next spring before they enter MLS, similar to what Seattle did before they came in this past season.

Honestly I think its a great idea to keep the tradition alive here with the name. Seattle did it and from the looks of things Portland will do the same.

This whole USL-TOA situation continues to take a turn for the worse. Today reports out of the Great White North say that both 2009 USL finalists Montreal Impact and the Vancouver Whitecaps will not be coming back to the USL in 2010.

In a radio interview in Montreal, Alex Papadakis confirmed that neither of the Canadian based clubs would be part of the USL for the 2010 season after the two sides failed to reach an agreement for continuing play next season and that the TOA was ready to move in another direction.

“The negotiations are finished,” Papadakis told CKAC.  “We decided to continue our preparation for the season 2010 with the teams which wished to remain with us.”

“I would like to thank the two Canadian teams, the WhiteCaps and the Impact, for all that contributed to the USL for the past few years,” Papadakis told CKAC.  “They were excellent for our League and I have much admiration for them. Now, I wish them good luck in their future plans. “

With the Whitecaps scheduled to join MLS in 2011 you have to wonder what Joey Saputo and his Impact will now do. More than likely they will make a serious push for a MLS bid.

Neither club has announced anything of this news on their websites and apparently according to the report the Impact are still selling season tickets for next season.

There is also a thought that Montreal could still join whatever league comes out of the TOA, possibly a MLS-2 for some daydreamers out there. But the more you look into Montreal the more you got to believe they will be a MLS club before long.

That is the talk right now. With the jersey success that is Seattle, future MLS side and Seattle Sounders rival Vancouver hope to bank in on a good kit sponsor as well.

Today’s hot rumor is that they will pair up with gaming giants EA Sports for a kit spnosorship deal. Bobby Lenarduzzi was recently asked about the possible deal and you can tell he is very hopeful that something could get done for the club.

“Interesting you ask about EA Sports,” said Lenarduzzi. “We believe there’s a natural connection between our sport and their games, and there have been initial talks, very preliminary, but that’s something that both sides will have to look at.”

The rest of the article (linked here) also mentions things the Whitecaps hope to do in MLS that in a way mirror what Seattle has been able to successfully do so far in the league. Get a good kit sponsor, sign some big-named local talent, and lastly sign a big-named foreign star to bring in even more fans.

We all know the blueprint that is out there for a successful MLS club both on and off the pitch. Hopefully new clubs like Vancouver get serious about using that said blueprint.

If you ask me I don’t see any reason why Vancouver won’t follow in the footsteps of Seattle and Toronto here. It just makes sense that they will.

Also, if they get EA as a sponsor it would be really bad ass.

Turns our we may not have the Whitecaps in MLS afterall. No they aren’t losing their expansion bid already but they may not be the MLS Whitecaps when they enter the league in 2011. CTV is reporting that Whitecaps President Bob Lenarduzzi says he can’t guarantee that the soccer club will keep the Whitecaps name once its joins the MLS in 2011.

“There are a lot of things we need to make decisions on,” he said. “The Whitecaps name has a lot of equity. There may be people out there that think it may need to be something other than that.”

Still, gaining entry to North America’s top soccer league marks a personal victory for Lenarduzzi, who played for the Whitecaps when they won the North American Soccer League Championship in 1979.

“I honestly didn’t think that there would be an opportunity to recapture what we had back then,” he said.

More than likely this won’t matter much. Seattle faced a similar issue going into their name picking a while back. If enough fans are in love with the Whitecaps name then you can believe they will remain the Whitecaps once they join MLS in a couple years.

Lenarduzzi sounds like a very passionate man too. He also stated he believes the club will do better than both Canadian rival Toronto FC and Cascadia Cup rival Seattle Sounders FC. He like the idea of Vancouver being able to out sell both cities in terms of season tickets.

“There is no doubt in my mind we are a better soccer market than those two,” he said. “I am excited about the prospect.”

It’s certainly possible in a soccer crazy market. I like the lofty goals by Lendaruzzi. Maybe they will come true.

Today is the day. Finally, after months of speculating over expansion sites we will finally know one of the two winners. The Pacific Northwest just got another boost with Vancouver, as they are expected to be announced as the 17th MLS club today at noon CT.

Vancouver has beat out remaining finalists Portland, St. Louis and Ottawa for one of the two 2011 expansion clubs. Portland and St. Louis are the favorites for the remaining bid, with various reports identifying Portland as the favorite to join Vancouver (more on that in a bit thanks to some emails from Portland).

You can follow today’s expansion announcement here.

Excited for Vancouver? Or just happy to see this fun run come to an end here?