Toronto always draws well for hockey, although they have not had a Stanley Cup team for 50 years. The Raptors and Blue Jays draw quite well. Soccer is up and down. The CFL? I'm surprised there is still a team in TO.
In Montreal, tennis draws good crowds, but the event only lasts one week. Formula 1 draws well, but it is a one-day event (the actual race, that is!). Over the long haul, the only sport that regularly draws sellout crowds or close to it is hockey - point final! Sports-wise, Montreal is a kind of one-horse town.
The big crowds for the Jays exhibition games was all nostalgia. What else is there to do in late March in Montreal for all the folks who don't have Canadiens tickets?
They had many season with attendance above 2 million. There was never a fan problem with the Expos. The problem was Claude Brochu who was handed the team by Charles Bronfman and didn’t have the money to operate a MLB franchise. It progressively got worse from there. Having said that a government as broke as Quebec who’s austerity measures are third only to Greece and Ukraine will not build a ball park with public money…
Yes Bell gets MLSE profits. MLSE and Rogers are both limited to Toronto only really.
Bells/TSN/RDS assetts include TV rights for NHL Ottawa, NHL Montreal, Naming rights to NHL Arena Montreal, CFL Montreal.
Also MLS primary partner in Vancouver and CFL in Vancouver.
Would Bell be even better profitable with a partnership with Quebecor in merging RDS and TVA help to bring NHL team to Quebec City? In turn could help bring MLB back to Montreal and CFL to QC.
Canucks S&E is looking to expand again into the NBA. would Bell be better off teaming with Canucks help to bring a future NBA franchise back to Vancouver.
TSN also has a major benefit of sharing programming with ESPN and vice versa.
As far as I know Leafs Network nore NHL Canada Network are not on Rogers Cable.
Bell could really expand into both the entire Quebec Province market and the Vancouver Market and really leave MLSE in a bind.
As for MLB back in Montreal. A moving Rays club being in American League East brings Toronto vs Montreal as well as Red Sox and Yankees. A big difference in where they where in the old National league east.
with the backing of Bell much better chance for MLB in Montreal, NHL in QC, and NBA in Vancouver.
Imagine Bell tied into everything from Ottawa, through Montreal, and to QC. MLB, NHL, MLS, CFL and French Language TV rights to NHL.
Steve! There is ZERO money to build a ball park. ZERO. All this is doing is raising false hope to Montrealers that they can get MLB back while lining the pockets of Rogers, who are laughing all the way to the bank taking in the equivalent of two pennant race game money for two pre-season games.
IF MLB is to return I see it being a current owner relocating and taking on a partner who spends to build the stadium rather than spending to buy an expansion franchise.
