Whitecaps/MLS Bid Articles

[canuck51]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081015.MLSEXPAND15/TPStory/Sports

MATTHEW SEKERES
October 15, 2008

VANCOUVER -- Major League Soccer, the burgeoning circuit with 14 teams and plans to add four franchises in the next three years, closes its request for expansion applications today and will receive bids from Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa.
In Vancouver, an application backed by reclusive B.C. businessman and soccer hobbyist Greg Kerfoot and NBA superstar Steve Nash will not face local competition after the NHL's Vancouver Canucks decided not to enter the fray yesterday.
Francesco Aquilini, the chairman of Canucks Sports and Entertainment, had been working on an MLS bid since his offer to team with Kerfoot, owner of the United Soccer Leagues' Vancouver Whitecaps, was rebuffed.
Canucks president and chief executive Chris Zimmerman said yesterday MLS was an "exploration" but that the NHL club would not be bidding.
"All along, our view was that we think Vancouver will be a great market and achieve some of the success that Toronto has experienced," he said
An informed source said Aquilini, who had met at least twice with MLS commissioner Don Garber, pulled out after failing to secure a soccer-specific stadium.
MLS, North America's premier soccer league, is adding two expansion franchises in 2011, swelling its membership to 18 clubs after Seattle joins in 2009 and Philadelphia in 2010.
Several U.S. groups are also expected to bid, raising the number of contending cities to as many as nine. The league is expected to award the new franchises by March of 2009. Requests to interview MLS officials about the expansion process were denied.
Aquilini's stadium play, ironically, rested with the current home of the Whitecaps. Swangard Stadium, with a capacity of roughly 6,000, is an aging facility in Burnaby, B.C., and would have required major work to meet MLS standards, including an expansion to 20,000 seats. Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan has spoken with Aquilini about renovating the facility after the Whitecaps announced earlier this year that they would be moving downtown to B.C. Place in 2011.
Aquilini's interest was piqued by potential synergies with his hockey team. The Canucks have the corporate infrastructure to operate an MLS team, and a database of roughly 60,000 potential sports consumers - the NHL team's season-ticket holders and its extensive waiting list.
Aquilini approached Kerfoot and Nash about a partnership this year.
After being rejected, his MLS interest did not cool, prompting the Whitecaps to prepare for a turf war and reaffirm their standing as guardians of the game in British Columbia.
"We did talk to MLS when it became apparent to us that [Aquilini] was looking at an MLS franchise, but not to say you owe us anything," Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi said.
The Kerfoot-Nash MLS proposal includes a not-for-profit component that calls for reinvestment into amateur soccer. The bid has widespread political and grassroots support.
MLS is asking for a $40-million (all figures U.S.) expansion fee - four times what Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment paid for Toronto FC in 2005. TFC, which was named Sports Business Journal's 2008 professional sports franchise of the year, routinely plays before sold-out houses at BMO Field.
Kerfoot, who also bankrolls the Canadian women's national team, has designs on a new stadium on Vancouver's downtown waterfront. That plan has been enveloped in red tape for more than five years as the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, a federal agency, mulls a proposed land swap.
Kerfoot owns roughly 25 acres of railway-yard land near the proposed stadium site. He has offered to swap 30,000 square feet of his property for 10,000 square feet of the federal government-owned land.
In the interim, the Whitecaps will move into a retrofitted B.C. Place, which is expected to be more conducive to soccer after extensive renovations, which includes a retractable roof.
The Whitecaps have won two of the past three USL championships. On Sunday, they defeated the Puerto Rico Islanders 2-1 to capture the 2008 title. Yesterday, they attended a ceremony at city hall with Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan.
In Ottawa, Eugene Melnyk, owner of the NHL's Ottawa Senators, has made a late foray into the game with elaborate plans for a new $100-million soccer-specific facility near Scotiabank Place. He is seeking a partnership with the city to develop a 38-acre plot southeast of the suburban arena.
But Melnyk's vision bumps up against a group fronted by junior hockey owner-operator Jeff Hunt that has been granted a conditional CFL franchise.
The football group, which includes wealthy Ottawa businessmen, is expected to announce its stadium plans in the coming weeks. The investors want to partner with the city to rebuild Frank Clair Stadium, the downtown facility where the CFL's Rough Riders and Renegades once played.
"At this point, we both probably feel like we have a better plan," said Cyril Leeder, the Senators chief operating officer and MLS point man.
Meanwhile, in Montreal, the parties are united and the stadium has been built. The USL's Impact unveiled 13,000-seat Saputo Stadium in May. The venue, located in the city's east end near Olympic Stadium, can be expanded to 20,000.
Montreal's bid is financed by the Saputo family, which owns the Quebec food company of the same name and has owned the Impact since 1993, and George Gillett, owner of the NHL Canadiens and co-owner of England's Liverpool FC.
***
MLS EXPANSION FRANCHISE BIDDERS
ATLANTA
Bidder: Arthur Blank.
Other sports interests: NFL's Falcons and Arena Football League's Georgia Force.
Top selling point: Atlanta is an important strategic market for corporate sponsors and television.
X-factor: Blank's NFL pedigree could resonate with MLS commissioner Don Garber, who spent 16 years in the NFL head office.

MIAMI
Bidders: FC Barcelona and Marcelo Claure.
Other sports interests: Barcelona is a European power; Claure is chairman of South America's Bolivar Futbol Club.
Top selling point: Could play at Florida International University's new stadium, which will hold more than 21,000 spectators.
X-factor: Miami Fusion FC was added in 1998 and folded in 2001.

MONTREAL
Bidders: Joey Saputo and George Gillett.
Other sports interests: USL's Impact (Saputo); NHL's Canadiens and EPL's Liverpool FC (Gillett).
Top selling point: New soccer-specific stadium that can be expanded to 20,000 seats.
X-factor: Geographic and historic rivalry with Toronto.

NEW YORK
Bidder: Fred Wilpon.
Other sports interests: New York Mets.
Top selling point: Mets suggested a soccer-specific stadium could be built near their new baseball facility.
X-factor: Instant rivalries with the New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia, which will join the league in 2010.

OTTAWA
Bidder: Eugene Melnyk.
Other sports interests: NHL's Senators.
Top selling point: Senators-backed bid seeks a Roman Coliseum-themed stadium in suburban Kanata.
X-factor: Competition for government's financial support from a CFL group wanting to rebuild Frank Clair Stadium downtown.

PORTLAND
Bidder: Merritt Paulson.
Other sports interests: USL's Timbers, Triple-A Beavers.
Top selling point: Portland is the largest U.S. community with just one major sports team (NBA's Trail Blazers).
X-factor: Two levels of government must approve a stadium plan.

VANCOUVER
Bidders: B.C. businessman Greg Kerfoot and NBA superstar Steve Nash.
Other sports interests: USL's Whitecaps (Kerfoot).
Top selling points: Residency program, grassroots investment, strength of ownership and soccer history dating to 1974.
X-factor: B.C. Place is a multidimensional stadium with artificial turf; will the MLS regard Kerfoot's proposed waterfront stadium as upside or uncertainty?

BIDS ALSO EXPECTED Las Vegas, St. Louis.

[canuck51]

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=3691b186-48c5-4cf9-b030-b18fe97686ba

Marc Weber, The Province

Published: Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Major League Soccer chatter ramps up again today as the league announces cities and ownership groups vying for two expansions in 2011.
The Whitecaps are joined by groups representing Montreal, Ottawa, Portland, St. Louis and potentially four more American cities.
Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini, who gave serious thought to a separate Vancouver bid, was not expected to be in the mix.
Decisions on the 17th and 18th franchises could come as soon as the MLS Cup on Nov. 23. But regardless of Vancouver's fate in this round -- it's thought MLS will go beyond 18 teams in the near future -- change is coming to the Whitecaps.
The club's working toward an extended season in 2009. The plan could be similar to that of the Montreal Impact, which this season signed players to 10-month contracts rather than eight-month deals. The Impact opened camp Jan. 7 and made preseason tours of Italy in January and Portugal in February. There are rumours of an African tour for Vancouver, who this season opened camp in March. There is speculation about a series of exhibitions, maybe in conjunction with MLS's newest addition, the Seattle Sounders.
"That's something we have not nailed down yet," said Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi, whose newly-crowned team was honoured at city hall on Tuesday. "But if we want to continue to evolve we've got to have guys on longer contracts. We're still going to be keeping an eye on success while developing new talent."
That raises an interesting question: Will commitment issues, rather than performance issues, spell the end of the road for Vancouver's veteran hometown heroes -- who all have jobs and, except for Geordie Lyall, kids?
"During our season they [other bosses] give us a lot of time to focus on the field and, obviously, they expect the opposite in the winter," said 28-year-old midfielder Alfredo Valente. "January and February are busy times in the club soccer scene. Both sides are going to have to ... work things out."
Valente, Jeff Clarke, Steve Kindel, Jason Jordan and Martin Nash all coach soccer.
Coach Teitur Thordarson admitted his eyes are on 2011:
"We have to try and bring in players who we think will be around after two years. We have to bring in players earlier, train more. This is all part of the next step to MLS."
- Mayor Sam Sullivan and councillors were honouring the new USL1 champs at city hall. The team flag was raised in front of 50 people.
"It's a demonstration of how proud we are of the team and the coaches," said Sullivan.
- The USL First Division could well move to a two-leg final starting in 2009. In the wake of the hosting controversy at this year's championship game -- Vancouver winning out over first-place Puerto Rico.
USL vice-president Tim Holt on Sunday told Team 1040 radio: "I think the time has come to have a two-leg championship. You might see that in 2009."
Puerto Rico coach Colin Clarke repeated his claim that money talked:
"You buy the final, it's wrong."
- USL has added two First Division expansion teams. The Austin Aztex begin play in 2009, while the Tampa Bay Rowdies return to pro soccer in 2010. British-born businessman Phil Rawlins, an owner of English Championship side Stoke City, is behind the Austin franchise.
It was the Rowdies whom the Whitecaps beat in the 1979 NASL title game, after which the team returned to 100,000 fans on Robson Street.

[PG Tips]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/soccer_america/10/17/mls.expansion/?eref=sircrc


By Ridge Mahoney, Special to SI.com, Soccer America (http://www.socceramerica.com/)
Buried amidst the furor over the MLS expansion bids submitted, and those that were not prior to the Tuesday deadline, is some clever wording regarding when the next phase of expansion will take place.

After months of "2011" appearing on every press release and announcement regarding the timeline, no such mention is included in the official announcement regarding the seven bids submitted.

Instead, the next round of expansion is set for "the next few years," and while a few commonly means three, and 2011 is three years away, there's no guarantee that expansion by two teams in 2011 is going to happen.

The deadline passed without a bid from the New York Mets. MLS officials have adamantly insisted a second New York team is an attractive option -- after all, does anyone really believe Thierry Henry wants to play on artificial turf in Seattle? -- and will continue to do so even as they evaluate the bids submitted. Henry may be too old by then, but some superstar from somewhere will be lured to the Big Apple at some point, and that doesn't mean Harrison, N.J. Bet on it.
(This isn't to say Red Bull won't sign a big name to jack up the excitement and the crowds when Red Bull Arena opens. But if MLS wants a superstar in New York it needs a team in New York, as in the city. Ronaldinho doesn't do Joisey, you know what I'm saying? The Knicks play in the Garden, not the Garden State.)

Also declining to submit a bid is the Las Vegas group fronted by Mark Noorzai, and thank God for that. Either the group wants to buy a piece of the Crew and not move it to Vegas, or it and another group that are affiliated yet separate want to buy a piece of the Crew as well as an expansion team in Vegas and build a vast indoor complex, including a stadium. Or it and the unaffiliated but not independent group want to purchase the Crew and move it to Vegas to play in a vast indoor complex, including a stadium, or it's playing a shell game of interlocking partnerships and overlapping interests, by which items dribble out such as this (from the Columbus Dispatch):
"Dave Whinham, president of The Team: Sports, Entertainment, Media, said California businessman Mark Noorzai is leading the efforts of both groups. The group in pursuit of the Crew is known as Crew Sports Holdings LLC. Its mission, Whinham said, is 'to shepherd, over time, the transition to local ownership and management of the Crew."'
Noorzai and "a couple" of those interested in the Crew also are involved with the Las Vegas Sports and Entertainment Group, The Team spokesman Stephen Evanssaid, but the Crew group also includes some local investors, and more locals are being pursued.
The only investors in Crew Sports Holdings who have been publicly identified are Noorzai and banker Jonathan Bloch. Whinham indicated that Noorzai, of Santa Barbara, Calif., would move his family to Columbus if the deal goes through."
As the potential business partners in Montreal might say, "Eh?"

There's no definite timeline for when the league will announce its expansion plans, either. "An announcement regarding which markets will receive the next two expansion clubs will take place during the fourth quarter of 2008 or the first quarter of 2009," is vague enough and long enough for the league to ponder its next move.

The dizzying pace of expansion is worrying, but the stone-cold facts are that the past few expansion additions are far superior propositions than some of the existing ones. Deep pockets, viable stadium options, and attractive demographics in Toronto FC, Seattle and Philadelphia pushed them to the forefront, and kudos to the Philly group for insisting on natural grass rather than the synthetic stuff in the other two facilities.
None of the Serious Seven will find equaling those groups a simple task. Of the past six additions (counting Real Salt Lake and San Jose), only Chivas USA is lagging. That's a good strike rate. Here's a rundown on the applicants:

MONTREAL: If Canadian mogul George Gillett or one of his partners can step up as the lead investor, Montreal looks much stronger than it did with just the Saputo family on board. Otherwise, MLS officials will look somewhere else. Great stadium, good USL team. Chances: Fair.
VANCOUVER: There's oodles of money in Vancouver, and by allowing Seattle to play in Quest Field, MLS has laid the groundwork for matches at B.C. Place, a 60,000-seat facility that needs some renovation but might be a suitable stopgap, if the waterfront stadium project awakes from hibernation. The star power of NBA star Steve Nash is irresistible. Chances: Good.
PORTLAND: Some MLS executives are leery of renovating PG&E Park in Portland, and backer Merritt Paulson says he'll pony up the expansion fee ($40 million, supposedly) but needs partners and public money to run the team, overhaul the stadium, and also build a suburban baseball facility for the minor-league team that currently plays there. That's a lot of pieces to fall into place for a very promising market. But, think rivalry with Seattle. Chances: Fair.
ST. LOUIS: It needs money and has needed it for years. At least it has political backing for a stadium project. But is the project or market so flawed the money hasn't been forthcoming? Chances: Grim.
ATLANTA: This bid has Falcons owner Arthur Blank in the spotlight and former Columbus Crew general manager Jim Smith, the Falcons' vice president of marketing, working behind the scenes. Or not. Chances: Slim.
OTTAWA: NHL Senators owner Eugene Melnyk has clout but he's not Dave Checketts, who in four years gave birth to Real Salt Lake and moved it into a spectacular stadium. Top that! Chances: Miniscule.
MIAMI: FC Barcelona has joined forces with businessman Marcelo Claure, a Miami resident who is the CEO of Brightstar Corporation, a wireless company, and the owner of FC Bolivar. This can't be a rehash of the Chivas USA model, with U.S.-based partner Antonio Cue running the show and drawing lousy crowds for Guadalajara owner Jorge Vergara, and neither can it be ex-Fusion owner Ken Horowitz revisited. But there's a deal in place to play at FIU, so there's hope. Chances: Fair.