To give you a sense of Scale
Quebec Debt 266 billion dollars GDP 1,8 trillion
California Debt 132 billion dollars GDP 1.8 trillion
And yet the Alarm bells in Quebec aren't ringing... :cowboy:
I don’t know if this would be possible but the Olympic seems to be costing the province and city some big $$$ each year and is bringing in barely anything nor is their $$$ or even anything to want to do with the stadium.
The same thing had happend with the Pontiac Silverdome. Detroit, who also is in financial problems, decides to build a new indoor stadium leaving a farily good shape Silverdome with no events and costing the city/state $$$ each year.
They put the Silver dome up for a Silent auction and a Toronto based company bought it for 500K. The price was not the big thing put ridding themselves of anything to do with the domed stadium as now it is a privately owned property.
Would Montreal be willing to do someth9ing similar or are they already thinking that very thing with Saputo licking his lips knowing with soccer events alone can make it a profitable venue let alon other events.
Olympic stadium costs 20 to 40 million dollars a year to maintain, needs at least 300 million dollars of repair to be SAFE and can not be thorn down as it is connected to the subway underneath. Nobody would offer any money for that, not even 500k.
Corrections.
Canada GDP is $1.8 trillion. Quebec GDP is $358 billion, or 19.7% of Canada GDP.
California GDP is $2 trillion.
That’s good news :lol:
The Impact had to postpone its game till Sunday the 23rd from today the 22nd do to weather conditions. Certainly not what the Impact and Saputo will be happy about. Sounders are a big draw and attempting to create these larger capacity games for home openers for the Impact and the MLS get place in jeapardy until at the very least a new roof is placed onto the venue.
Already the Als had to drop any possibility of a home playoff game at Olympic or the hosting of a Grey Cup.
The city is pinned up against the wall here as not having the ability to host big time soccer or CFL playoffs or Grey Cups certainly are costing the city exposure and out of town $$$ being pumped into the economy.
Even Rogers is pushing for the MLB exhibition games at the big O to end spring training. Those games cannot be postponed and would be kind of costly for the Jays.
Rogers is pratnered now with Quebecoe and TVA to be the French Network Carrier of Rogers owned properties like the NHL contract. Quebecor paid Rogers 120 million to get onboard. Somthing will give sooner or later as having an enclosed big sports veneue in Montreal will be profitable to someone with half a brain.
Don’t know that the TVA - Rogers deal is officially anything but NHL.
I read it was but could be mistaken. Both Rogers Sportnet and Quebecor TVA have a working agreement on several other sports programing to cover the English/French sports broadcasting giving Bell and TSN/RDS more competition.
Either way It appears that Quebecor is becoming the French Rogers in the province of Quebec. They already have the management rights to the NHL arena in QC and is possible that they could look to expand to take management rights to Stade Olympic.
Copps now First Union the city of Hamilton has turned the management right over to Gobal Spectrum, MLSE has BMO, Rogers bought RC so cities looking to pass the management of arenas and stadiums over to pro outfits who can bring profit and events.
Als apparently interested in holding the 2014 Vanier Cup. The question is can it be held at the Big O with the 3cm. of snow rule?
Mayor Coderre lately has been vocal about seeing something done with the Stadium, but of course it`s not his money.
[url=http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/sports/football/201403/25/01-4751356-la-50e-coupe-vanier-a-montreal.php?utm_categorieinterne=trafficdrivers&utm_contenuinterne=cyberpresse_B9_football_424_section_POS4]http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/sports ... ction_POS4[/url]The idea is to host it at McGill stadium.
Yes the idea is to host the 50th Vanier at McGill and hosted by the Montreal Alouettes. The Als have shown interest in the past and likley passed on last years game to be the host of the 50th.
The game will be played at an on campus stadium which is also the home of the Als and since the reno’s has all of the ammenities of a pro football stadium including a solid 25K seating capacity along with proper suites.
Montreal is also a fairly central place for More than half of the Universities in the CIS.
Montreal easily has enough hotels, resturants, and other to easily host the game on less then a years notice.
As the article states it is time for a group effort for those to once and for all put a roof on Olympic that will enable to host events year round. With eather conditions in late november being indoors would be much more prefered but at this time even the Als have been forced to pull any home playoff games from the traaditional Big O and no chance of hosting a grey cup.
With Winnipeg having the new venue the realization that a city can host both the Grey Cup and an annual heritage classic in the city in the same sports year is a very profitable way to pump $$$ into the cities economy.
In fact Montreal would in fact in the future be able to host the vanier, Grey Cup, and Heritage Classic in the same year. Unlike a game in Vancouver vs Ottawa a game at olympic with Montreal hosting the Leafs would be a classic for the ages and in the same year could break the record for the largest Grey Cup attendance followed by the largest attendedsporting event in Canadian history between the Canadians and Leafs with the ability to add seating and VIP sections around the tiny rink sitting on a football sized field.
Follow that up with a season opening MLS game between the Impact and TFC and the final two spring training games for the Blue Jays vs a big market MLB team like the Yankees or Red Sox.
Do this in a year of the World Baseball Classic with Team Canada hosting a pool play round.
Was I mistaken? I just read in Le Soleil that there will be 46 000 plus ( if no snow on roof ) at an Impact game this weekend.
I did not see that but I beleive it. Its not this weekend but April 5th vs NY Red Bulls. Huge draw. The use of Olympic Stade for the Impact for big draw games are important. They have had bigger crowds but in the 40’s has happened.
Last season during rivalry week 47K I beleive for Impact vs TFC
There will be 80,000 for 2 Blue Jays / Mets pre-season games on Friday night / Sat. afternoon. It is also part of an Expos celebration with Gary Carter and the 1994 Expos team being honored.
[url=http://www.rds.ca/baseball/mlb/montr%C3%A9al-passe-d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-le-test-1.1127380]http://www.rds.ca/baseball/mlb/montr%C3 ... -1.1127380[/url]Warren Cromartie is heading a group trying to revive a baseball franchise for Montreal. This is obviously a longterm project requiring an owner with deep pockets as well as a stadium. You`re looking at a billion dollar output. Do you know anyone Niagara? 
As for the Big O roof, with Quebec`s deficit, health care issues and infrastructure problems, no Quebec politician will dare bring up putting money into the Big O.
I still can’t believe that the province of Quebec is spending half a billion on an NHL rink with no tenant. People around Montreal are putting their lives in danger every day getting to work and going to third world like contaminated hospitals to get care. The austerity measures coming to Quebec will be most unpleasant.
Thats what gets me on the double standard building a new NHL rink in QC for a half a billion dollars but will not but a 50 million dollar roof on a venue that clearly will bring huge sporting events to the city of Montreal.
Having a Grey Cup and a Heritage classic alone would pay for that.
Impact and Als will have games their that will draw between 40 to 50K.
A good crowd of 80K attendance for two Blue Jays games.
It may take Montreal and/or the Quebec govt to pay for the roof then charge a group to manage the venue to assure they will get paid. That is most likely what Saputo would plan to do.
46K already expected for the NYRB game vs the Impact.
When Euro soccer clubs come to the US to tour and travel Saputo would be sure to get some big name high draw friendlies at the Big O.
The moment the roof situation is fixed the CFL will book a Grey Cup there ASAP. The last Cup there fell short of the record as it did not sell out the 70K plus seats for sale but still got well over 60K. Now a GC is an assured sellout. Having a record breaking attendance for the GC would be huge for the growth of the new CFL
Like the NHL Rink in QC it was built with govt $$$ but quebecor has a lease to manage the venue.
The Als I believe still lease office space at the Big O and are in need of a Practice facility. With the office and locker room space at the Big O the Als would need to have an outdoor practice field outside the Big O and they would have a permanent tenant using Office, locker room, and even renovate space for workout space.
The Quebec City arena will cost $400 million, with the city and the Province splitting the tab. This is before cost overruns which never occur in Quebec. 
While a family of Pioneers like the Molson had to sell their rink and team they built with private money because the city of Montreal was charging them 14 million dollars a year in property taxes. Quebec is the most F… up corrupt place in North America. Makes Louisiana and Florida look like choir boys.
No way Jose.
Whether Saputo sees the Als as a rival or not the Als have their own set up and partnership with McGill and their stadium.
If the Impact/Saputo do take over Olympic Saputo is a businessman and would at the least be samrt enough to allow a Grey Cups to be played there as well as most likley Als home playoff games.
As for the rest taking on the Als as a tennant with Locker Room, training facilities, Office space, etc. Could be made a provision by the city should they give the Impact management rights. Also again a good business decision to have a tennant leasing the space at the Big O each year with the Als paying to put an outdoor practice field on the grounds.