Vancouver Whitecaps The Next Vancouver Grizzlies?

Next season Toronto FC will be joined by the Vancouver Whitecaps who will become the second Canadian team in Major League Soccer. Will history repeat itself?

Anticipation is building in British Columbia where the Whitecaps begin MLS play in approximately 5 months time. But we saw the same when both Toronto and Vancouver were granted National Basketball Association franchises (NBA) in the early 1990`s, now 15 years later, The Toronto Raptors NBA team have a big following whilst the Vancouver Grizzlies are now playing in Memphis.

The Whitecaps will look to eclipse the strong fan base in Toronto where the Whitecaps have already sold 14,000 season tickets for their inaugural season which is impressive given the fact that the Seattle Sounders who are only 100 miles away on the West Coast have over 30,000 every game. Clearly the west coast is a stronghold for football fans.

Although TFC will have a rivalry with Vancouver, only on the basis both teams are Canadian, expect a massive rivalry between Seattle Sounders and the Vancouver Whitecaps. Vancouver will start life in MLS at the temporary Empire Field before moving to BC Place where the club will then hope to move to a Football specific stadium on the Vancouver harbour front.

Crowds at BMO Field could take a dip next season after MLSE announced plans to up ticket prices, making them the dearest in Major League Soccer. Fans of TFC revolted against the owners last weekend by wearing green to signal the greed of the owners trying to get every penny possible out of Toronto FC Supporters.

Will the Vancouver Whitecaps be similar to the Vancouver Grizzlies NBA team who lasted less than 5 seasons in Vancouver before the franchise moved to Memphis due to waning fan interest?

OK football and basketball are different sports. Both Vancouver and Seattle have lost their NBA franchises but there appears to be a real interest in football in the North West which can only be a good thing for a league finally looking to break the stereotype of being a much weaker division to anything in Europe.

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