Vancouver MLS 2011 Information & Vancouver MLS 2011 Links at HealthHaven.com

Vancouver MLS 2011
Nickname(s)	The Whitecaps
Founded	2009
Ground	BC Place Stadium; Vancouver, BC
Owners	Greg Kerfoot, Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett, Steve Nash
Home colours	Away colours

Major League Soccer (MLS) has awarded an expansion franchise for an as yet unnamed Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver, British Columbia that will begin play in 2011. The team will replace the North American Soccer League's Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

[edit] History

The Vancouver franchise was announced as Major League Soccer's 17th team on March 18, 2009 by Commissioner Don Garber.^[1]

[edit] Ownership

The Vancouver ownership group is composed of four men; Greg Kerfoot, Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett, and Steve Nash.^[2] Kerfoot is the owner of the full Whitecaps FC organization (which owns the current USL-1 team as well as a women's team and several youth and developmental teams) and formerly the CEO of Crystal Decisions Software. Luczo is president/CEO/chairman of the board for Seagate Technology and part owner of the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics. Mallett, a Vancouver native who was raised in Victoria, British Columbia, was formerly the president and COO of Yahoo! and is currently a part owner of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants. Nash, also raised in Victoria, is the starting point guard for the Phoenix Suns and two-time NBA MVP.^[3]

The team sold the first 5,000 $50 season ticket deposits 48-hours after they became available to the public. Remaining season tickets will be made available to season ticket holders for the USL-1 Whitecaps before becoming available to non-season ticket holders.^[4]

[edit] Team name

Although it has not been officially revealed, and the team's website currently reads only "Vancouver MLS 2011," the team is mainly owned by Whitecaps FC and was referred to several times as "the Whitecaps" in the introductory press conference. News stories before and after the announcement indicated that some form of the Whitecaps name would be used by the new MLS team.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

The team website also links to "Vancouver Whitecaps" on the bottom of the page.

[edit] Stadium

Vancouver will be playing in a newly-renovated BC Place Stadium from their inaugural 2011 season until at least 2015. In the meantime, the Whitecaps FC organization hopes to finalize and build the proposed Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium.

[edit] References

^ "MLS awards Vancouver team for 2011". 2009-03-18. http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090318&content_id=227084&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
^ Steve Nash trains with 'Caps Residency
^ MLS awards Vancouver team for 2011
^ Major League Soccer (March 23, 2009). "First wave of Vancouver MLS ticket deposits gone". Press release. http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090323&content_id=230017&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
^ "It's official: Whitecaps joining MLS in 2011". The Vancouver Sun. 2009-03-18. http://www.vancouversun.com/official+Whitecaps+joining+2011/1402528/story.html.
^ "MLS expected to announce Vancouver expansion team". CBC News. 2009-03-17. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2009/03/17/sp-whitecaps-expansion.html.
^ "Whitecaps to announce they will join MLS in 2011". The Vancouver Sun. 2009-03-17. http://www.vancouversun.com/Sports/Whitecaps+expected+announce+they+will+join+2011/1398865/story.html.
^ . Canwest News Service. 2009-03-17. http://www.canada.com/Sports/Whitecaps+announce+franchise+secured/1399199/story.html.

Vancouver portal

[edit] External links

Vancouver Major League Soccer 2011

[0] "MLS awards Vancouver team for 2011". 2009-03-18. http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090318&content_id=227084&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp. Retrieved 2009-03-18.

[1] Steve Nash trains with 'Caps Residency

[2] MLS awards Vancouver team for 2011

[3] Major League Soccer (March 23, 2009). "First wave of Vancouver MLS ticket deposits gone". Press release. http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090323&content_id=230017&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp. Retrieved March 25, 2009.

[4] "It's official: Whitecaps joining MLS in 2011". The Vancouver Sun. 2009-03-18. http://www.vancouversun.com/official+Whitecaps+joining+2011/1402528/story.html.

[5] "MLS expected to announce Vancouver expansion team". CBC News. 2009-03-17. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2009/03/17/sp-whitecaps-expansion.html.

[6] "Whitecaps to announce they will join MLS in 2011". The Vancouver Sun. 2009-03-17. http://www.vancouversun.com/Sports/Whitecaps+expected+announce+they+will+join+2011/1398865/story.html.

[7] . Canwest News Service. 2009-03-17. http://www.canada.com/Sports/Whitecaps+announce+franchise+secured/1399199/story.html.

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