Trying not to be outdone by their rivals to the south, the supporters of the USL-1 Vancouver Whitecaps have issued a press release this morning in regards to a promotion they are going to be putting on at an upcoming game.

They want their fans to come out in full support and will be issuing “MLS rally cards” that will include instructions on how to help the city land the expansion bid for 2011 in MLS.

“This Sunday at 7:00 p.m., the Whitecaps host Minnesota Thunder at Swangard Stadium and are encouraging all soccer fans, and everyone who wants to bring more major league sports to the Lower Mainland, to play a role in helping the club secure an MLS franchise for Vancouver.

“Everyone who attends the match this Sunday will receive an MLS rally card with instructions for their participation during the match. Video and audio recordings of the fans will become part of the official Whitecaps MLS bid submission. In addition, fans are also encouraged to sign up online at whitecapsfc.com/mls to show their support.”

Sounds like a neat idea but I still think they may be a bit off the pace in regards to a couple other bids out there right now. But money speaks to leagues like MLS and if they do indeed have some good financial backing they could easily move ahead of some other cities out there.

I wouldn’t be shocked to see the other two USL cities (Portland and Montreal) try to do a similar type of promotion to get their fans more interested in the expansion process here in the coming weeks as the MLS deadline of October 15 looms near by.

A lot can easily change between now and the year 2012 in Major League Soccer. But after yesterday’s comments in Montreal made by MLS commissioner Don Garber, the league may be expanding more now than we really had ever thought it would.

When addressing the expansion probability for Montreal on a day that they opened their new stadium (Stade Saputo), Garber said his usual 18-club league by the next few years but did add that they feel like they could do more than that. He didn’t explain how many more cities or how long of a time frame for that.

The main point he made was that the league is going to take their time and get it right. Team values are going up as well as the expansion fees for these cities. The cities in the mix are just hoping to cash in on the fun before its too late here.

Now this isn’t a talk about the league expanding too quickly or things that need to be in place for the league to expand to 18 or even 20 clubs. We know those things and will be able to point them out at another time. I’m sure MLS is looking at the long-term picture of the league here and is hoping to finish shaping the league’s expansion over the next five to 10 years. I just wanted to take time today and throw out what each city has to offer and what still needs to be done with each.

The latest rounds of expansion have easily been the best the league has seen in it’s short history. Getting clubs in towns like Toronto, Seattle and Philly were key for the league. Its paid off too as Toronto continues to sellout their stadium, Seattle has reportedly gotten between 15,000-16,000 season ticket holders for next year, and Philly is nearing in on the 6,000 season ticket total for when they start in 2010.

Its obviously a good thing for cities like Montreal, Portland and Vancouver to be in the spot light in recent weeks for various reasons. Each are hoping to be one of those next two expansion cities but just as the other hopefuls they all have work to do.

Garber said they would know where they want to go within the next year. So don’t be too shocked to see cities pop up in the discussion over the next couple of months, especially before the All-Star game. Each will want to put their best foot forward in hopes to get that next bid for the 17th and 18th spots in MLS.

So let’s break it down about what each has to offer MLS (no particular order here either). I may miss a point or two so feel free to comment on them below. Continue Reading…

I swear I’m getting around to the MLS weekend previews here, but until then I wanted to discuss a headline on MLSnet.com about the Vancouver stadium situation. MLS Commissioner Don Garber took time today to address the stadium/expansion issue with Vancouver.

There had been announcements today that BC Place in Vancouver would undergo renovations (and get a retractable roof), that sparked some interest in the MLS front offices.

“We believe Vancouver is a potential market for a future Major League Soccer expansion team. There is no doubt the market for professional soccer exists in Vancouver, as we saw last November when nearly 50,000 fans attended the exhibition match between the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Whitecaps.

“We understand the newly renovated BC Place Stadium will be a world-class facility. We look forward to learning more about the proposed renovations so that we may determine whether BC Place can serve as an interim venue for an MLS team pending the construction of a soccer-specific stadium.

“MLS will have 16 teams by 2010 with the addition of Seattle next year and Philadelphia the following season. We are currently in discussions with potential expansion team owners and local governments in many markets across North America regarding the 17th and 18th teams.

We look forward to continuing our discussions with the Whitecaps regarding the opportunity to award a Major League Soccer expansion team to Vancouver in the future.”

With all the problems that Vancouver has faced with getting a soccer stadium built downtown, this news really comes as no surprise. People leading the charge to get an expansion club in the city are hoping to possibly use BC Place as a temporary home for a MLS club until the waterfront stadium can be complete.

Its interesting that Garber decided to talk about Vancouver in this manner. It was previously thought that the city was just a hopeful but this kind should give the city a reason to feel like they are very much in the thick of things with St. Louis, Montreal, Miami, Portland and New York for the next two expansion spots.

I doubt it moves Vancouver anywhere ahead of St. Louis or Montreal here but as we all know any press is good press. That is the case for Vancouver here.