Argos For Sale?

ARgos are for sale again.
Whats with the people who buy this team?
They stay in for a few years and bail.
They need to get some owners in for the long term.
Not who get out once things go bad on the field.
OF course this story is bringing out the same old same old from pepole like Stephen Brunt.
But too bad companies like Rogers or MLSE aren't interested in the CFL?
Why I don't know. Because they'd be a great team to own.
But I guess they're more interested in this team and league dying.
Pretty sad eh?

I'm not surprised, I think it has been for sale for a long time. They've been way too quiet lately. I think a lot of disheartening things have motivated them to sell. They got skrewed on their stadium project, then their landlord skrewed them with the Bills thing. Their team is in shambles on the field and they probably don't have the motivation anymore.

They've been great owners and whoever buys them is in way better shape than what it was last time it was purchased.

They say David Braley is going to sell the Lions and buy the Argos.
That would be a great move for the Argos.
Next move is to get out from under Rogers thumb.

Got to sell the BC Lions first…no buyers out here that we’ve heard of.

Perhaps one of those Millionaires from Saskatoon, Victoria, Kelowna and Red Deer that we keep reading about in the expansion threads will step forward to buy the Argos or Lions.

Oh wait, there haven’t been any.

....wasn't Braley loaning the Argos cash to stay afloat in the past.....he may as well take on the whole load.. :roll:

Braley was quoted as saying he's had 15 interested parties in BC to buy the Lions.

[i]''Recent news reports have referred to rumours regarding my ownership of the British Columbia Lions. I want to stress that the team is not for sale,'' said Braley in a statement. ''I remain the team's owner, proud of its accomplishments, both on the field and in communities across British Columbia, and dedicated to its future success.

''As an individual, I have always strived to act in the best interests of the Canadian Football League, something that unites this country and that I care deeply about, and I will always do what I can to strengthen our league, and my team, the BC Lions.''[/i]

Sounds to me like Braley isn't selling...

Not surprising as these rumours have been circulating for a while now. Interesting though with the 100th Grey Cup coming up in 2012 and speculation it would be where the first one was, Toronto.

Cynamon and Sokolowski have been great owners though and although the team has gone downhill on the field since the departure of Damon Allen, there is no reason to believe the Argos can't be strong again. But Toronto is a tough place to own a team when Rogers is trying so hard with the Bills and MLSE would like to get in on an NFL team as perhaps, I don't know. Just saying that as Larry Tannenbaum of MLSE and Ted Rogers were in the photo shoot with Ralph Wilson a few years ago with the Bills in Toronto series.

To me though it would seem natural for Rogers to purchase the Argos and try and comarket them with the Bills series. But I don't think this is on the company's agenda.

Jim Popp should buy it.

Why wouldn’t they? Should they be expected to lose money year in and year out? That gets pretty old pretty quick. People just seem to expect people like Cynamon and Sokolowski as well as Bob Young to continue to pour money into local money losing CFL teams forever. That just isn’t going to happen. The league as a whole needs to wake up and put forth a league wide effort to bolster the weak southern Ontario market. Hamilton getting a new stadium and with it much needed new, as well as increased stadium revenues, should go a long ways towards stabilizing that franchise. Toronto is a different matter all together. Perhaps a new facility should be considered there as well. No matter what is decided, the league should take every step possible towards a goal of a consistently profitable Toronto franchise. If this in fact does take place, then the CFL will have lost a couple of younger, hip owners who were really passionate about the league, and it will be a huge loss

At some point I think there could exist the idea that the Tiger-Cats and Argos combine into one team or perhaps stay separate but play in the same stadium. Particularly if Hamilton/Toronto doesn't get the Pan-Am Games and therefore no new stadium for Hamilton. Just all my own speculation though. But one stadium for both teams makes a lot of sense to me just thinking about it.

So here they are: The team is stuck in the Rogers Centre, where the lease is very good, but the surroundings are hardly ideal for a CFL-sized crowd;

Interesting comment by Brunt in his article. I would add that the surroundings of the Rogers Centre are hardly ideal as well for the Blue Jays who might average around the 25,000 mark in the RC albeit baseball is supposed to have an atmosphere of laid-back snoozing compared with football.

Toronto was officially awarded the 2012 Grey Cup (the 100th) at the same time as the 2007. Which may be exactly why Braley is looking into buying the Argos at this time. Despite his denial (which is really what he has to do)…where there is smoke, there is usually fire.

I don't think we want Rogers or MLSE to ever get their hands on the Argos. They might not exist if 5 years, if we do.

The next owner of the Argos must be committed to constructing a 28,000 seat outdoor stadium in Toronto. This would ensure the Argos, and perhaps the entire CFL's existence, for another century. I think the Argos will continue to struggle by remaining as a minor tenant at RC.

Another option is to team up with the MLSE to essentially re-build BMO stadium into a permanent home for the Toronto Argonauts Football Club...and the Toronto Football Club (who play in a soccer league.) :wink:

Then BMO could be used for high school and college football and soccer games, as was originally envisioned for the city-owned facility. But MLSE might just drive the Argos into the ground if they took control of the team, to help pave the way for their, or their friends, NFL interests.

just gonna put it out there as a possibility, though an highly unlikely one... but what about a community ownership like in Saskatchewan, Green Bay, or like IKEA.

There were a few ownership bids for a team in Ottawa to replace the Gades, maybe one of the denied bidders is still interested in getting a CFL team (and keeping it where it is). Toronto would be a better investment than a new Ottawa team.

It's also interesting that this just about coincides with the city of Toronto and their decision to convert BMO into a grass field only stadium which is what the soccer purists in Toronto want, and I don't blame them, they'll get players want to come to Toronto that otherwise might not because of the turf. So I say it's definitely over and out for the Argos there, the soccer people will be furious with the city and MLSE who manages the facility if they let football on their and tear the field to pieces.

I can see Braley and the Rogers people having some interesting conversations about the RC, that's for sure.

I still have difficulties believing anything a columnist writes where there are no named sources for the information. How many times do we have to read/hear that some franchise in whatever sport is up for sale or being moved and then nothing happens before we start ignoring these reports until something actually does happen.

Although this news is never good especially for the spin doctors, the anti CFL journalists etc. here in the wanabee NFL region, I can think of no one better to own the team and give its proper justice and long term ownership like David Braley.
The sooner the better, as MR. Braley is 100% true blue CFL.

A silver lining here though is that while the current Argo owners may have had a goal of having at least 40,000 per game and as they found out, even being local owners and winning a GC their first season, this wasn't going to happen in Toronto or at least not there in a stadium like the Rogers Centre, Braley probably has a different version of how this team can be successful and he knows it won't be with 40,000 people in the RC. I also believe that someone like a Braley that knows the CFL inside and out will have a more realistic and yet at the same time longer vision of the Argonaut football franchise. This could be very good. I applaud Sokolowski and Cynamon all the way but they don't have experience in the CFL and were unable to handle a situation like losing a Damon Allen and exactly how to deal with another icon, the Pinball.

Braley has saved the BC Lions from ashes, he hired the very good Bob Ackles and also the league itself. Heck, maybe he can clean up the mess with the current Argos.