by Jerrad Peters
19 March 2009
MLS coming to Vancouver
The Olympic city is now a Major League Soccer town as well. On the eve of the 14th MLS campaign, Vancouver was awarded the league's 17th franchise, beating out rival bidders Portland, Ottawa and St. Louis.
It was a no-brainer. With a savvy, well-moneyed ownership group in place and stadium upgrades already in the works, Vancouver was an easy choice for MLS commissioner Don Garber.
"Our goal is to become one of the world's best soccer leagues," he told reporters at Wednesday's press conference at the Westin Bayshore. "The addition of Vancouver will help us get to that point."
Heading the quartet of investors is Greg Kerfoot. In addition to owning Vancouver's USL-1 franchise, he is the CEO of Crystal Decisions Software. Joining him are Jeff Mallett, Steve Luczo and Steve Nash. Mallett—co-owner of the San Francisco Giants—is the former president and COO of Yahoo! while Luczo—a co-owner of the Boston Celtics—is president, CEO and chairman of Seagate Technology. Nash is a point guard with the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association and two-time NBA most valuable player.
"This is a great win for the province of British Columbia and the city of Vancouver," remarked 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."
The stadium—BC Place—is set to undergo a $365 million renovation. Currently home to the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League, the grounds will be fitted with a new seating configuration so viewers can be closer to the pitch. A hanging scoreboard and retractable roof are also in the works—both MLS firsts.
The Vancouver franchise—likely to be named the Whitecaps—will begin play in March 2011. Until then, they will continue to participate in USL-1, where they are defending champions.
Football has been part of the provincial capital's sporting culture for some time. Their North American Soccer League outfit won the Soccer Bowl in 1979. Bob Lanarduzzi—a defender with the '79 side—is the president of the current incarnation of the Whitecaps. He will be expected to fill a similar role with the MLS franchise.
"The successful bid for a Major League Soccer franchise offers a while new level of opportunities for our organization," he stated, adding that the city and province would reap economic benefits by extension.
British Columbia premier Gordon Campbell was also on hand for the unveiling of the franchise. A long-time supporter of Kerfoot's bid to bring MLS to Vancouver, he expressed his hope that the incoming MLS team would carry on the 30-year tradition of the Whitecaps.
The next round of MLS expansion will come in 2011. Portland is the early favorite to secure the league's 18th franchise. Miami and Montreal were also in the running before removing their bids.
Benitez inks 5-year pact at Anfield
Rafael Benitez ended months of speculation, Wednesday, when he signed a five-year contract with Liverpool. If he sees out the duration of the deal, he will have served a full decade as manager at Anfield.
"My heart is with Liverpool Football club, so I'm delighted to sign this new deal," he said. "I love the club, the fans and the city. And with a club like this and supporters like this, I could never say 'no' to staying. I always made it clear I wanted to be here for a long time."
With his old contract set to expire in 2010, Benitez would have entered the summer as a lame-duck manager. He had intended to re-sign with the club in the autumn, but both he and the club's co-owners could not come to terms on a handful of clauses.
For one, Benitez wanted assurances that he had complete control over Liverpool's player transactions. This led to a bitter feud with chief executive Rick Parry that culminated in Robbie Keane's exit and Parry's resignation. Having outlasted Parry, the way was clear for Benitez to sign a long-term pact.
That was the second hurdle. The 48-year-old wanted a clear signal from owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett that the club would commit to him for the foreseeable future. He got his wish in the form of a five-year agreement. Money—Benitez will be paid 5 million pounds per season—was never the issue.
The pay-raise will see the Spaniard rise to second-place on the Premier League's managerial earning chart. Guus Hiddink tops the list at 5.2 million while Arsene Wenger earns 4.5 million. Sir Alex Ferguson brings in 3.6 million pounds per year and Everton's David Moyes earns 3.2 million.
Although Benitez had always hoped to stay at the club, his desire to get the deal done was heightened by an encounter with one of Liverpool's more vociferous supporters.
"Last week I met with a supporter who carries a flag to every game," he remarked. "The flag has a picture of me on it and the Spanish phrase 'siempre es possible,' and it is flown at all our home games. I saw it at the Bernabeu also when we played Real Madrid, and I met the supporter who owns the flag at Melwood last week."
He continued, "It was really funny because he was telling me 'you must sign!' and saying 'I hope it is for 10 years.' But then he was changing his mind, 'no, 20 years.' It was really funny but it also showed the incredible passion of the Liverpool fans and the support that they give to their manager."
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