Many have been looking for places to watch the World Cup in Vancouver but for this Sunday’s match it’s a whole other deal. The finale between Spain and Holland will be a big one this weekend so I turned to the biggest fan of Holland that I could find (Ariane Colenbrander) and have asked her to put together a list of where she recommends cheering on the Oranje.

Photo credit: ariane on Flickr

The following was contributed by Ariane:

As difficult as it is to be so far away from the true action in The Netherlands (my husband’s country and mine through marriage), it’s also been fun to watch it with a mixed crowd of Dutch and worldwide fans here in Vancouver. Joe’s Café on Commercial Drive (and William) has been the mainstay for the past few games. The owners are very friendly and get into the action by cheering both sides on every so often.

As well, The Libra Room (at Commercial and Graveley) took the Brazilian quarter final loss against the Dutch in stride and is fully supporting the orange wave this Sunday.

A Facebook page was created earlier this month in order to bring Dutch soccer fans together to watch the games.

According to the Vancouver Sun, the 700 block of Granville Street hosted the Spain vs. Germany semifinal match and will probably repeat the party on Sunday.

Yelp’s website has a viewing party listing for Rogue’s Kitchen and Wet Bar at Waterfront Station (601 West Cordova).

My best bet is to watch it somewhere on Commercial Drive. The colourful vibe can’t be beat and fans of all nations have been gathering here for days to watch their various teams compete. If you want a seat, make sure you allow plenty of time to arrive before the 11:30 am start. We arrived just past 10:15 for the semifinal and grabbed the last few seats facing the main room’s screen.

You can follow @ariancdesign on Twitter for all of her updates throughout the rest of the World Cup.

Fans of Spain can feel free to list their favourite venue (if not already mentioned) in the comments or I would be happy to accept a guest post as well.

The Vancouver Whitecaps are moving into Major League Soccer for the 2011 season along with another expansion teams in Portland and Montreal (2012). This morning the Whitecaps unveiled their new logo that will be used when they join the MLS.

Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS, 2011)

Some of the early reactions are a bit bleak, so I thought I would put it up against our other sports logos in Vancouver to see how it compares.

Vancouver Canucks (NHL)

BC Lions (CFL)

Vancouver Giants (WHL)

Vancouver Canadians (Short-Season A, Oakland A’s MLB affiliate)

I was thinking that the logo is missing some green however most logos representing our regions have green for the forests and blue for their the mountains or the ocean. It’s nice to see them take a unique approach while still capturing the mountains and the ocean in there somewhere. I’ve seen the Whitecaps logo on a few different backgrounds now but I don’t think I can make my final decision until I see it on a uniform. Regardless, the move up to the MLS is an exciting one.

Related: You can also view a video an interview I did with Whitecaps President Bob Lenarduzzi for more information about the team and upcoming World Cup coverage.

Update June 10, 2010 The Whitecaps unveiled their new kits for their 2011 MLS season today as well. They can be viewed here.

Watch the World Cup in Vancouver as South Africa hosts the 2010 FIFA World Cup in just a few days. The car flags are already waving and it will have the jubilation and national pride of the Olympics all day and night, throughout the region. Our multicultural melting pot of a city will come alive with men, women, and children sporting the colours of many countries on t-shirts, cars and everything in between.

CLF on Flickr

Here’s how you can catch all of the action in Metro Vancouver either on television or in-person.

CBC
As the official broadcast home of the World Cup in Canada, the CBC will have extensive coverage including commentary from Vancouver’s own Bob Lenarduzzi. You will even be able to watch matches live online.

Donnelly Pubs
Cinema Public House and Library Square Public House open at 7:00am, showing games at 7:00am, 9:0 am, 11:30am, 5:00pm, 7:00pm and 9:00 pm. The Calling Public House, The Lamplighter and The Academic open at 11:00 am, showing games at 11:30 am, 5:00 pm, 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm. This schedule will be in place until July 11, 2010.

Red Card Sports Bar
Probably one of Vancouver’s newest sports bars, Red Card will be showing most World Cup matches as their screens will be locked on the CBC as of June 11th when the open up for business at 7:00am.

Players Chophouse
Although not listed on their website, there are some ClubZone listings for World Cup games at Players Chophouse.

Ceilis
Open daily at 11:00am for World Cup broadcasts.

Commercial Drive
Nations converge on this one legendary road where you can choose from dining anywhere from a Nepalese restaurant to a Portuguese cafe. During the run of the World Cup there will also be the Car Free Day street festival as well as Italian Week.

Nyala African Cuisine (4148 Main Street) will be open daily at 6:30am serving an African style breakfast and lunch serving mostly south African and north African food. They will show all games on a 10-foot screen with HD projector.

Rio Theatre
Located just off Commercial Drive this one-room movie house usually shows World Cup games on their big screen with dozens of flags waving overhead.

Vancity Theatre
On Seymour at Davie the Vancouver International Film Centre will open up its theatre for digital broadcasts of several World Cup games. Big comfy seats and full theatre amenities will make this one comfy place to check out the action.

German Cultural Centre – Alpenhaus
Boasting Vancouver’s largest HD screen the Alpen Club will be showing every World Cup game.

The Cascase Room
Located on Main Street, the Cascade Room is planning full World Cup coverage. A schedule is available on their website.

River Rock Casino Resort
Lulu’s Lounge will be showing the matches from 7:00am – 2:00pm every day. People can also enter to win a World Cup Jersey of their choice and a VIP River Rock Package.

Coca Cola South Africa on Flickr

As a side note, we discovered a cool television special on National Geographic last night called Build up to the Cup. From commuter rail systems to new stadiums, it’s fascinating to see how South Africa has been built up for this monumental occasion. Check local listings to see when it will air again if you’re interested.

Back to events, I’m sure there are many more taking place throughout Metro Vancouver during the World Cup so if you have anything to add, please feel free to leave a note in the comments and I’ll put it to the list.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa will run June 11 – July 11, 2010.

Update There will be a finale watching party / fundraiser at Ceilis on the 11th.

Update Ariane C guest posted about where to watch the World Cup final this weekend.

I recently had the chance to chat with Bob Lenarduzzi, President of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC and CBC commentator for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Born and raised in the Vancouver area, Lenarduzzi could easily be referred to as the Wayne Gretzky of Canadian soccer. He was a star of the North American Soccer League, a member of the Canadian nation and Olympic soccer teams, and is a member of the Canadian National Soccer Hall of Fame as well as the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame.

We met out by Empire Field where a temporary stadium is being setup while BC Place undergoes a massive facelift. Once everything is complete, the Whitecaps will move into BC Place for the 2011 season as one of two expansion MLS teams. Lenarduzzi explains all this and more in the following video:

Links:

It was the site of the Miracle Mile and where the Beatles took the stage in Vancouver, now after being demolished in 1993 Empire Stadium will once again be filled with cheering fans.

Life.com – August 1954, Photographer: Ralph Morse

Here are some historic events that took place in the old Empire Stadium, located on Hastings right near Hwy 1 in East Vancouver:

Stadium Ski Jumps

Photo credit: striderv on Flickr

While BC Place is otherwise engaged in 2010 with the Olympics and major renovations, the BC Lions will play their games at a new structure built on the site of Empire Stadium. Adjacent to the PNE (just East of the Coaster) it’s a great location with a fantastic North Shore view. The Vancouver Whitecaps will also play a few games at Empire once again during their inaugural MLS season in 2011. Here’s what the 27,500-seat temporary stadium will look like:

Via News1130.com

I’m looking forward to its return, in whatever form the incarnation may take. As my husband said last night, imagine a warm summer evening up in the stands with the aromas of the PNE’s candy floss and fresh popcorn wafting over the crowd as you take in a football game with a mountain backdrop. Sounds like a great Vancouver outing to me.

Update June 17, 2010 John had a sneak peek at the field this week. I posted his photos here.

Photo credit: abdallah

Zinedine Zidane‘s postponed charity soccer tour Zidane and Friends will now be happening July 12 at Swangard Stadium.

He was originally scheduled to play alongside international soccer pals on July 4th however he sustained an injury on Canada Day. Returning this Sunday, the match will see local soccer stars take on Zidane’s team and will raise funds for UNICEF and other causes. Tickets start at $30 and are available online.

It just so happens that I have two four-packs of tickets to give away to Miss604.com readers to share with their friends and family. Please leave a comment on this post if you are interested in attending and I’ll draw two winners 24 hours from now, on Friday July 10th.

Update:The contest is now close and with the help of Raul, I did a draw for the two four-packs of tickets. Alan and Geraldine are the winners, congratulations!

Update: I was able to go as well, here are a few photos from this evening’s game…

It’s about time I post about the trip to Seattle last night to see Real Madrid take on DC United eh? [604]

3 more hours to go and I’m fading fast. Yesterday (after working since 7am) I hopped on the skytrain in the afternoon and headed toward Surrey. It took a little longer than expected since 4 of 6 ticket machines were down at Waterfront station and I was not the first person to get there. If tourists don’t know how to use the machines they should just turn around and ask someone, perhaps the impatient girl standing behind them who has somewhere to be (right Laura?)

Once en-route I gave Jen a quick call to confirm the meet-up locale. 45 minutes later I was in Surrey and headed south with my sister and brother. I can’t tell you the last time that *just* the three of us did something together.

At the border we had to wait in a 20 minute line up, but it really wasn’t too horrible. The Pacific Truck Crossing is always your best bet, regardless. I directed my sister in to one of the right hand lanes and as we were approaching the customs booth she turned to me and said: “Oh great Becky, you put us in the only line up with the chick.” My sister and I find that we have a much ‘easier’ time at crossing the border when there is a gentleman customs agent manning the booth (and tossing out cheesy pick up lines).

Jen had no reason to worry, we were waved through and on our way. 2.5 hours of bumper to bumper traffic later and we were approaching Seattle. I always forget what the city looks like since it’s one I rarely visit. I snapped a few shots of downtown and we lumbered our way through the busy downtown streets trying desperately to find parking (while we could hear the game in progress, with crowds cheering, it was a lil stressful).

I almost went ballistic when a man scooped up a spot we were line for (and that was assigned to us by the attendant) but about 5 minutes later we came across a lot and parked the car. Although it was $35 to park there a) it was close b) we were going insane c) missing the game would have eventually cost us more than $35.

Beckham was on the pitch during the first half although by the chants of “U-S-A” in the crowds I quickly found out who the real crowd fave was. The game was SUPER slow going, uneventful (except for a few corner kicks and penalty kicks OOOH) and we spent more time in line ups and mosh-pit-like seas of people to get in and out of the stadium than we did actually watching the game.

Over all, the game wasn’t the best but the experience was fantastic, despite all the traffic problems and throngs of people – since really, that’s to be expected. I can’t wait to make a run down there to catch a baseball game with John. Qwest field, sitting right next to Safeco Field, where the Mariners play, is darn impressive and I’d love to explore downtown Seattle a little more.

Jen and James dropped me off at home and by 2am I was crawling into bed with John.

Tonight I’m working until 8:30pm. I’m super-mega tired and will start work at 7am again tomorrow. I have pics of the trip up on my flickr (TAG:DCUnitedRealMadrid) and I also took a couple videos. John will either extract the audio for a podcast or I’ll YouTube them up here soon. What a week.