MLS Expansion - Could NBA's Steve Nash bring a MLS team to Vancouver?

There are three facts that no one can argue. One, the NBA's Steve Nash is a huge soccer fan. Two, the USL's Vancouver Whitecaps would love to move to MLS. Three, MLS has been more then just a little impressed with the results out of Toronto, thus is very open to the idea of another team in Canada. So the question is, can these three facts turn into a top-league team for Vancouver?

According to Steve's brother, Martin Nash, the basketball star is interested in helping bring MLS to Vancouver. It should be noted that Martin happens to play for Vancouver.

"He's trying to get involved. I don't think he's very involved yet but he wants to get involved. He just wants to give the game of soccer a higher profile in Canada...

Soccer is our first-love sport. We grew up playing it and my dad played it and still plays it, so it's just something embedded into us."

So could there be something to this? Might Nash be the man that helps push Vancouver into MLS?

According to league officials, um, we don't know:

MLS commissioner Don Garber met Steve Nash in May and wrote on the league Web site that the two-time NBA MVP may be interested in getting involved as part of an ownership group trying to bring a team to Canada.

Mark Abbott, the president of MLS, said the league is hesitant to speculate further.

"Steve Nash is obviously interested in soccer in Canada and what his role is ... I don't know how to say it, he would have to say what his role is with respect to that," said Abbott, who is the league's spokesperson on expansion issues.

Nash is already involved in the new Women's professional league, so this doesn't just appear to be idle talk. My guess is if Whitecaps owner Greg Kerfoot could figure out the stadium issue, Nash would join up in an Oscar De La Hoya style move.

MLS Expansion - Is Vancouver's MLS dream over?

MLS Commissioner Don Garber has made it clear, if Vancouver wants to be the second Canadian team in the league, they need a stadium. Greg Kerfoot, owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps, has been trying to make it happen for five years, but no it looks like he has given up as the soccer club will permanently move into the 60,000-seat BC Place in 2011.

BC Place will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic games. After the games, the air-supported roof will be removed and replaced with a retractable roof. Once that is done, the Whitecaps will move in.

If this is indeed a permanent move, it looks like MLS will not be in Vancouver anytime soon. However, the team is still negotiation with officials regarding the stadium, so who knows, the dream might still become reality.

MLS Expansion - Vancouver's soccer future tied to railroad past

The future of a waterfront soccer stadium that could lead to a MLS team for the city of Vancouver hinges on the resolution of railroad issues. Vancouver Whitecap owner Greg Kerfoot has proposed building a $90m stadium with his own money, but he doesn't have enough land to make it happen. That's where the Vancouver Port Authority (VPA) comes in.

The VPA owns the strip of land Kerfoot needs to complete his stadium, however to get at it, the VPA wants rights over the part of the rail yard Kerfoot owns. Kerfoot is not in a hurry to give up his property, although he has given Canadian Pacific right-of-way to the rails in perpetuity.

So what is the big deal? Well the reason Kerfoot doesn't want to hand over the land or rights to another group has to do with his other plans for the site as he wants to build three condo towers around the stadium, which would defer a lot of the cost of the stadium (hello DC and San Jose).

Part of these towers will stand over the current rail lines, meaning he will need to place some serious support pillars into the area. This engineering work will probably require altering the path of the rails in some way. Needless to say, the more people involved in this means the less direct control Kerfoot has over the site.

For their part, the VPA fears that any drop in railway capacity will hinder the ability of their shipping port to handle all the traffic in the future.

Thus enters Canadian Senator and former Vancouver mayor Larry Campbell.

"Maybe it takes someone to sit down and say: 'Okay, boys and girls, is this going to happen?' " Campbell said Monday afternoon. "I don't know if anyone would consider me an honest broker, but I've taken mediation.

"From a politician's point of view, this [project] is a win-win."

Now it is up to Campbell to see if he can make the two sides agree. If he does, Vancouver becomes a top-tier MLS target.

As far as a backup plan, if it will help them land a MLS team, the Whitecaps owners are open to the idea of playing at a revamped B.C. Place Stadium, but only on an interim basis. The MLS is open to the idea but only if a stadium deal was assured of taking place.

MLS Expansion - Will Vancouver ever let Whitecaps owner build a stadium?

The Vancouver Whitecaps are yet another soccer team having troubles getting their stadium built, however their issues are very different from those of most teams as the organization is not looking for public money to fund the project. Instead the objection centers on the use of waterfront land.

Whitecaps FC owner Greg Kerfoot is ready to front the full cost of the $90m, waterfront stadium, however those opposed to the idea feel the location will deprive the public from access to the water as well as negatively alter the historical area. This dispute has caused Kerfoot's proposal to linger for four years, just waiting for approval.

So why bring this up under the header of MLS expansion? Simple, if this stadium gets approved in the next year or so, it would catapult Vancouver from not even a chance territory to serious contender in the quest to land either the 17th or 18th franchise in the league.

As envisioned, the stadium would start off as a 15,000-seat facility, but could expand to 30,000, which fits in just fine with the current MLS stadium requirements. Add to it the waterfront view and the rivalries with Seattle and Toronto and they might just have something magical. But it all comes down the stadium as MLS Commissioner Don Garber has specifically told the city, no stadium, no team:

"The key for Vancouver is being sure they have a stadium plan. It's the third leg of the stool to give the city an opportunity to be part of the mix in future MLS expansion."

Vancouver still stands far outside the realm of MLS reality as cities like St. Louis, Miami, New York and Montreal push forward, but that could change very quickly if Kerfoot's plan is approved.

On a side not, Kerfoot seems to be the Canadian version of Lamar Hunt as he has placed a lot of his own money into developing the game in the country.