There are still people south of the border wondering how Vancouver managed to get the nod as the first 2011 MLS expansion franchise.
Those who did jump on board with Vancouver, did so only recently when somehow they computed that Vancouver jumped to the top of the list after Miami dropped out.
It’s all so much nonsense.
MLS is like any other league. They go where the money is, first and foremost. Through Greg Kerfoot, Jeff Mallett, Steve Luczo and Steve Nash, the Vancouver bid had boatloads of it.
Next, MLS looks for a strong organization. The Vancouver Whitecaps have a history in the sport virtually unlike any other major market in North America. And finally the league looks for a stadium plan.
With BC Place undergoing a $365 million upgrade, you can tick that one off too. Probably the best thing of all about the Vancouver bid, is that all of these elements existed from the moment they submitted their bid.
There were never any questions about the viability of this group. Every other bid, including the three left in the mix, still have issues. When you add it all up you have to conclude that Vancouver was the front-runner as soon as the league opened up the application process on Oct. 15th.
The only thing in my mind that clouded the situation was Montreal.
For a short time, they looked as strong as Vancouver and it was hard to believe the league would expand twice into Canada. Once Montreal dropped out, it was a no-brainer. I've changed my mind on that way of thinking anyway. T
here's no question that if Eugene Melnyk had been able to push through his stadium proposal in Ottawa, then the league would have made a double announcement today. There's also no question that whoever is able to put all their ducks in a row first, will get the next franchise. Right now it looks like Portland, but it’s not a lock.
The St. Louis proposal has been wandering in the wilderness all along.
It does appear as though Melnyk has run out of time for 2011, but maybe not.
The league does things on it own timetable, and if Ottawa beats Portland in the race to get it all done, even if it means May or June, the league will wait until then if they have to. Either way Ottawa gets in at some point if Melnyk wins the stadium battle.
