Braley needs BMO Deal soon!

According to the Toronto Star today Argo's owner and Hamilton businessman David Braley needs a completed deal done with a new lease at BMO Field soon.

I see Braley already has his sights set on hosting more Grey Cups in Toronto even without a stadium, it's a wonder if Hamilton will even get an opportunity at THF in the coming years?

[url=http://www.thestar.com/sports/argos/2015/02/12/argonauts-need-to-secure-bmo-field-deal-and-soon-arthur.html]http://www.thestar.com/sports/argos/201 ... rthur.html[/url]

From the Toronto Star report,

"So it’s coming down to money. According to officials throughout the CFL and MLSE, the Argos would be a profitable team with any kind of reasonable lease at BMO, and would finally become a saleable asset. One CFL source indicates Braley has the option on yet another Grey Cup in either 2016, 2017, or 2018 — the sixth Grey Cup for a Braley team since 2005, which is causing some grumbling around the CFL. But he is difficult to budge.

lol this headline has been the case for over a year now

I think a deal will get done...and soon. It's just "negotiating". :wink:

Besides, the Argo's can always move to Ft. McMurray. :lol:

Who came up with this brainwave for them to have their first "home game" there for 2015. :roll:

Braley was hailed as the saviour of the Argos when he stepped up to buy them a few years ago but he insists on making money on them? He needs to be realistic. His motives for not getting a deal done to get the Argos into BMO are totally NOT altruistic. There is no chance that the Argos will make any money unless they get into BMO and he is stalling with his tough stance on the financing of further renovations. Sounds like Braley is cutting his nose off to spite his face. The other CFL owners need to be putting some pressure on him to get a deal done, but NOT putting out any money.

Braley has has FIVE opportunities in the past 10 years to recoup some of his losses with hosting Grey Cups, especially with the 100th in TO which had to have made him some money. Meanwhile we have Bob Young who (uncomplainingly) has lost MILLIONS on the Ticats and has YET to host a Grey Cup. Now that the stadium is not longer an issue, he deserves a chance to host a GC and recoup some of his losses long before Braley gets another one. In fact, Braley should be out of options for hosting the championship since he wants to sell both his teams in the next couple of years. Both Hamilton and Ottawa should be awarded the GC game in the next couple of years (2016/17).

Part of the league’s initiative to “grow the CFL”! :wink:

Argos will only be profitable if ticket buyers show up. Putting their butts into BMO is no guarantee of that. It may make the odds better, but will be no slam dunk.

As far as Braley getting one of the next 3 cuo games. He’s already had more than his share. He can line up behind Hamilton for his next turn at the trough.

Insists on making money on them? Braley can only be “realistic” if he behaves as an “altruist” where the team is concerned? Please confirm what you mean by these terms because as I understand business a) it is done SPECIFICALLY for making money and b) what does being an altruist have to do with it? Is Braley supposed to own the team as a charity? Is there some unwritten rule in life that everything has to be done for the benefit of another? It would seem to me that unless and until money is made, the operation of a team for altruistic reasons is impossible.

On this point, I agree. Moving the team to BMO field doesn’t guarantee success. I think the Argos’ challenges in that marketplace go much deeper than simply the venue.

Sorry if my ramblings weren’t clear. Don’t know if you clicked on the link and read the article.

From the article:

Braley… has been a titan in the league, has saved teams and been its most important member, and still, he always seems to find a way to pair altruism with money.

The article also stated that Braley didn’ want to lose money on the Argos (I presume that refers to the sale of the team).

From this I take it that many hail Braley as a great guy who has stepped in which is true and could be considered altruistic. Yes the idea of a business is to make money but most CFL owners realize that they are not going to make money (this is changing) on a CFL team and are more likely going to break even - if they are lucky.
Braley seems to be unwilling to come to a deal on the use of BMO Field for the Argos because it might cost him more money (further renovations - the 10 million the Feds [I think] won’t put in). Meanwhile he has been practically starving the team (lack of marketing $$ and personnel which is losing the team money). However if the Argos end up folding because no deal is reached, they have no home and are no longer able to be sold, he loses big time and it also hurts the league (including his other team). His unwillingness to invest any more in order to make a profit down the road is certainly not altruistic (putting the success of the league at risk), but neither does it seem to be realistic. Maybe allowing him to own two teams and thus have a greater say in league business wasn’t such a good idea but if I recall there were few options at the time. I got the impression (from the article) that other owners, many of whom have lost money and don’t complain about it, are getting fed up with his stalling.
Don’t know if that clarifies anything for you but if you haven’t read the article then maybe that would help you see my point - no guarantees, of course! :frowning:

I’m guessing Braley must have ‘sold’ the home opener to Fort McMurray. But I would actually be pissed if I was a fan of any other western team not called the Eskimos. That the Eskimos - who are even playing their lone home preseason game in Fort McMurray against Saskatchewan - that they are then going to get to play one of their so called ‘road’ games in the same stadium doesn’t seem to fair to me.

In 2015 the region will come alive when the green and gold hit the field in the new SMS Stadium as the Edmonton Eskimos bring their season-opening exhibition game to Shell Place. A legendary sport franchise joins with a venue known for the premier sport and recreation experiences in Canada to create an unforgettable few days of community, celebration - and football
https://scontent-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10991326_10204256847994638_8410405330073875477_n.jpg?oh=0fe5e34c450208b9d215777e54e945b3&oe=55922D0F

Couldn’t the Argos have played it someplace in the east - not in Edmonton’s backyard? Like I said - I’d be a bit pissed if I was a fan of one of the other teams in the west with that scheduling.

Braley may not be as desperate to sell as everyone thinks. The Grey Cup is often presented as a way for Braley to cut his losses, but when combining the Lions and the Argos and therefore getting to host the Grey Cup every 2-3 years, perhaps this guy is actually running a decent profit on the CFL when all is said and done?

For instance, if say, the Lions make $1 million profit while the Argos lose $1 million, he's actually breaking even regardless of disaster in Toronto. Then he adds the profit of twice as many Grey Cups on top.

CFL operating budgets aren't huge numbers, it wouldn't surprise me if the difference in profit of the Lions vs losses of the Argos, multiplied by 3 years doesn't add up to the profits of a Grey Cup

Braley is trying to sell the Lions also, if he lets the Arblows go for cheap it undervalues his other team.
Braley is a very successful businessman, MLSE will want the Grey Cups and 20 games booked at BMO, shared ticket offices,
training facilities, etc., MLSE wants the Arblows, Rogers wants them out of skydump without seeming to throw them out on the street. It will get done, Braley will get $6M from MLSE and they will get a Grey Cup and make that back in 1 year.
If Braley gets $6M for the Arblows, the Lions with their BC Place Lease is worth $12M+

Look at the way the Rogers bunch treated Paul Beeston, trying to hire Duquette, and you think they would have second thoughts about throwing out the blew team when the time comes?

Any business person who is thinking about buying that other team down the road, would do his or her due diligence before writing the cheque. They would look at the budgets of the two, the relative success, abilities of the current staff, attendance and all the rest. Considering those factors and more, would likely conclude that the problem could in the comparative spending by the owner on the two teams, facility and the poor marketing effort by the Toronto team to develop interest.

Feel free to add your own reasons.

One team’s sale may not necessarily relate to the price for the other.

About a year ago when MLSE seemed pretty interested in buying the Argo's, Braley was asked by the media what he would consider a fair price for the Argo's and Lions who he said he would like to sell within the next year or two. Larry Tannanbaum even said in the media if MLSE doesn't buy the team he might because he has always been an Argo fan but nothing happened.

In regards to the value of the Lions and Argo's, A reporter asked Braley the worth of the Lions is around $25 Million and Braley laughed and replied more like $40 Million and Toronto not as much because of the lease situation but still in the mid twenties range because of team, history, CFL anchor team etc.

Still a drop in the bucket compared to NFL teams or other pro sports franchises but still worth more than what many may think.

The only way the Arholes get profitable is leave Toronto , there is no support for the Arholes in a city full of BIG leagues NHL,NBA,MLB,MLS after these teams there are slim pickins to support the Arholes move them to Quebec City or even Moncton

sure way to kill corporate sponsorship in the league.

Just like the Al’s were moved out of MTL and left for dead. Only to return to a smaller stadium and be much more successful.

The Argo’s can make it work at a 25 000 seat BMO, just like the Ticats always sell out at 24K seat THF.

And you can bet Bob Young wants to see the Argo’s situation figured out because games against the Argo’s in Hamilton always bring in the most revenue for him.

Only way Argos can be relevant in Toronto is for MLSE to own them but I'd rather the league cease to exist than for any owner of the Argos to beg for mercy at the hand of a Rogers controlled biz like MLSE, and Rogers does control MLSE so it seems. :?

Lol,always sell out? There has only been a few games. Just wait until a bad year and see what happens. Hamilton is just as fairweather as any city. See 2009 playoff game,first in many years,and they couldn’t sell out the playoff game or 2010 against the Argos.

You see it all over the world and Toronto isn’t any different. There’s never the same level of passion for sports in a country’s principal city as elsewhere. There are plenty of passionate Giants fans but ask the average New Yorker how they’re doing and many won’t have a clue. Ask somebody in Green Bay about the Packers and you’re guaranteed to be stuck in a conversation for the next little while.

Sports is all about identity. Smaller markets love the attention they get from the rest of the country when their team is doing well, the identity of that place becomes tied to the team. The principal city of a country, on the other hand, doesn’t need the attention.

Toronto is actually pretty unique in this regard in that many of its sports teams are in major US leagues rather than domestic ones. Toronto suddenly is the little guy craving attention when you put it in a major US league. Hence the passion for the Leafs. That team is intertwined with the identity of that city and its people and it doesn’t matter what they do on the ice, people will always love them. This is no different than why people in Saskatchewan love the Riders, Toronto just requires a different audience.

My point is, the lack of natural, automatic interest in the Argos isn’t anything out of the ordinary for a team in the principal city of a domestic sports league. Don’t hold it against the city of Toronto.

That doesn’t mean that all is doomed though.

Look, it doesn’t matter that the Argos are not, and will never be the talk of the town, what matters is if the Argos can convince enough people on their product to make a profit. With a population the size of Toronto, they can do that, but unlike the Leafs or Jays, who can do no wrong, the Argos need to actually sell a good product in order to generate the interest that they need.

Unfortunately, the product has stunk for the past 20 years. Going to the Rogers Centre is no fun and most of the real fans I see there are clearly holdouts from the days at Exhibition. I’m a CFL fan because I loved going to Ivor Wynne. If I had grown up in Toronto, I’d have never developed a passion for the CFL. The venue really is THAT bad, and the Argos simply haven’t been getting any repeat customers for 20 years, the product has stunk.

Move them to BMO and the Argos are a good product again and with a good product, there will be customers willing to part with their money.