I really like how you word this. Too often we hear X city needs a wining team. You can have the most entertaining game in history. One team is going to lose. If you need a winning team, you don’t deserve a team.
It is my personal opinion that Toronto is an event town and not a sports town. People cite the Maple laughs as a team that Toronto has supported, but that is corporate support. With the impression that many people have about the CFL you cannot count on that kind of corporate support.
From what I understand about BMO field, Toronto missed the boat already (bad pun intended). The cost of modifying the stadium now that is has been built is far more than any reasonable minded business person would want to incur for a team that is already sinking (ok no more puns, I promise) in debt.
I think it maybe time having a CFL without the Blew team in Toronto is seriously considered. Their business model is broken, and there does not seem to be a Bob Young like saviour willing to endure huge losses while it is repaired. Is this simple moving them to one of the many suburbs, or doing an Ottawa and folding while they fix things? I don’t know and would make a great debate.
Personally, i think the Argos should reach out a lot more to the various ethnic groups in the city. There are lots of folk from Europe, the Middle East and Asia that may come to games if they’re taught the rules and actively sought by the team.
Ivor Wynns capacity was 30K THF is 24K. that crowd in 2009 and 2010 would’ve been a sell out at THF.
Im saying supply and demand. Chances are you sell out at 24K vs 30K. Chances are the Argo’s sell out more games at 25K than 50K. And with that scarcity you can increase ticket prices.
… The city hasn’t missed the boat. All it costs is 30 Million to expand the endzone footprint and install retractable seats. They’ve already secured 20 mill of that 30 mil through public funds. And its a drop in a bucket compared to the $150 mill going into renos at the stadium right now which is essentially a major construction zone anyways.
The cost or the complexity of the modification is not an issue.
[b]David Braley finally seems willing to discuss a legitimate asking price for the Toronto Argonauts, which may actually save the bare-bones CFL franchise from the brink of despair.
Sources have told Sportsnet that Braley, the owner of both the Argos and B.C. Lions, met Tuesday with MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum. ?While the two have had talks in the past, they have been far apart on a purchase price for the Argonauts franchise.
MLSE has interest in acquiring the CFL organization and making a renovated BMO Field its new home, but the sides were nowhere close on a legitimate sale price. As Sportsnet reported earlier this month, Braley was seeking $10 million for the Argonauts and at least one prospective buyer was willing to offer $2 million for a franchise that loses at least $3 million annually and attract flies to the box office.
The timing of Braley and Tanenbaum’s meeting — which included the pair attending Tuesday’s Maple Leafs-Florida Panthers game — comes at a curious time in the evolution of BMO Field. The stadium is in the midst of a face-lift, as part of a two-phase construction project which is to be completed prior to the lease running out on the Argos at Rogers Centre in 2017. Specific revisions must be completed to transform BMO into a facility that would accommodate Canadian football? measurements and requirements.[/b]
News1130 Sports ?@News1130Sports 1h1 hour ago David Braley told me Monday, for 1st time, he can see Argos playing at BMO Field next season, steps in right direction being taken. #CFL
Arash Madani ?@ArashMadani 1h1 hour ago MLSE has interest in buying the Argos, but not at Braley’s $10 mil price. Could Tuesday’s meeting have added sanity to the situation? #CFL
Arash Madani ?@ArashMadani 1h1 hour ago Per sources: MLSE chairman Larry Tannenbaum met with Argos owner David Braley Tuesday. Attended the Leafs game together, too. #CFL
[quote="Grover"]News1130 Sports ?@News1130Sports 1h1 hour ago David Braley told me Monday, for 1st time, he can see Argos playing at BMO Field next season, steps in right direction being taken. #CFL
Arash Madani ?@ArashMadani 1h1 hour ago MLSE has interest in buying the Argos, but not at Braley's $10 mil price. Could Tuesday's meeting have added sanity to the situation? #CFL
Arash Madani ?@ArashMadani 1h1 hour ago Per sources: MLSE chairman Larry Tannenbaum met with Argos owner David Braley Tuesday. Attended the Leafs game together, too. #CFL[/quot1000th
Braley should give them the team and then tell MLSE that the $10 million they saved will go towards the BMO renovation.
When they say "next season" I assume they mean 2016. The field could be renovated at the same time as the new roof.
The second half of that article certainly portrays Braley in a very bad light.
Under Braley’s ownership, the Argonauts have stripped the front office administration to a skeleton staff. The vice president of ticketing, as well as the head of marketing and communications were fired in 2014, and much of the marketing department disappeared. The Argos attendance was negligible and the team moved from one facility to another during the season for practice.
After the Labour Day loss in Hamilton last September, an Argos source vented to Sportsnet.
“Our owner is cheap as [expletive],? he said. “(We’ve) got no (healthy) bodies left?. It’s a joke.
“Meeting rooms at the facility can’t fit the team. We have curtains as dividers. And we can’t spend to bring in NFL (training camp) cuts with CFL experience.?
While sources said Scott Milanovich was not happy with the situation, he remains the team’s head coach, although two of his assistants left this season for jobs in Ottawa.
While the CFL has not commented on the Argonauts situation, quietly many in the league office have expressed exasperation with the situation. Former commissioner Mark Cohon, in private, acknowledged to friends that Braley’s ownership has not helped the league progress.
“Everyone is losing money on the Argonauts,? said an industry source. “If David Braley believes he can sell the team and walk away with a boat load of money and leave deficits and debts to others, he’s… fooling himself.?
The comment attributed to Cohon - bolded above - speaks volumes IMO.
Yet the League (and, by extension, Cohon) continued to hand over truckloads of money to Braley by giving him multiple Grey Cup games at his domed stadiums while while ignoring Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Regina (to a certain extent), and yes, Hamilton. Even Montreal had its share of Grey Cup games at the Big Ouch at a greater frequency than the open-air stadia that I mentioned. With one person owning two teams being awarded Grey Cup games (and enjoying the revenue) at such a frequency is a scandal that is rarely seen outside the Red Chamber…
Please remember it was Braley who was lead man in putting the PanAm Stadium into Hamilton instead of Toronto,
When he clearly needed a better Stadium for his own Toronto team.
It was an incredibly unselfish act by him on behalf of the City of Hamilton, our Caretaker and the League.
http://www.hamiltonmagazine.com/sitepages/?
Hamilton’s role in the Pan Am Games hatched at least a year before the initial bid, and was spearheaded by the late Dr. Gene Sutton (a member of Canada’s Olympic Committee and a tireless proponent of amateur sport) as well as the input of other community stakeholders, including the Ticats. Sutton was aided by David Braley – former owner of the Ticats, present owner of the BC Lions and Toronto Argonauts, and the initial director of the Pan Am bid (a chair he resigned after being appointed to the Senate in May).Braley made a well-known secret of his interest in Hamilton’s possible role in the Games, in order to secure a facility for the Ticats.
Braley is both saviour and devil. Without Braley, there probably is no CFL team in Toronto. No one stepped up when the team was sold the last time. A CFL without a team in the country's biggest city/market would lose a lot of lustre. But these days, he's killing the team through neglect. He needs to set a realistic price on the team and sell it. $10 million is absurd. You could buy the whole eastern conference for that.
Say what, $10M is absurd and you can buy the entire East!!
You must be delusional and drink the Toronto US wannabe anti CFL kool aid.
Get a life.
$10M for the Argos in this day and age is not a high price at all.
Especially since the Riders are likely valued at between $75M-$100M.
I disagree, the Argos are losing at least $3 MIllion a year, they don’t have a stadium to play in. How many season tickets did they sell last year, around 3500? If they had some season tickets sold up front, then a prospective buyer would have some money up front to field the team. I don’t see any buyers lined up to buy them.
The BMO renovation needs $10 Million for CFL football, Braley should give the Argos to MLSE and tell them that they can use the “value” of the Argos to renovate the BMO.
I am sure glad some of the fans aren't making the decisions for footballs future in the east. Mr Braley is a fine generous person just look what hes done for Hamilton, Large donations to Hospitals, Mac, ect. Lets be very careful what we say about this gentleman.
The reason the Arblows don,t have a promotional department, Corporate sponsors, ticket drives, advertising salespeople,
and a large office staff is the team is for sale and the Team will have no Stadium to play in after next season.
You cannot have Corporate Sponsors and Season Ticket holders sold to a Stadium that will not exist!
It is not fair to keep a committed office staff when a new owner would want their own people in key positions.
Braley has let them go to find new jobs knowing that their imminent future is precarious to say the least.
When MLSE buys the team for say $6M they will be using their own MLSE office staff,
MLSE will have Corporate Sponsors lined up to buy Corporate boxes and season tickets at BMO with shared tickets,
promotion and advertising all out of Corporate MLSE.
The Arblows are a natural fit for MLSE and BMO,
Leafs and Raptors out of the ACC and Arblows and TFC out of BMO
Agreed $10 Million is not a heck of a lot for a football team or sports franchise in any league for that matter but beyond the asking price is what it would cost for any new owner or group to spend to get the Argo's up to the proper numbers and profitability again.
I recall break even point for the team at somewhere around 20,000 per game at Rogers maybe for a deal with BMO field a little less or something similar to that amount with the potential of further investment in players and marketing to increase the seat sales beyond the break even point and actually make money.
February 18, 2015 Sportsnet
Story on Braley and Tannanbaum Meeting
"The Argo's for the past year or two have been operating on a shoe string budget as Braley has tried to sell the team as reported by Sportsnet, the longer this goes on the more damage will be done to the team and the league.
After the Labour Day loss in Hamilton last September, an Argos source vented to Sportsnet.
“Our owner is cheap as [expletive],? he said. “(We’ve) got no (healthy) bodies left?. It’s a joke".
“Meeting rooms at the facility can’t fit the team. We have curtains as dividers. And we can’t spend to bring in NFL (training camp) cuts with CFL experience.?