Montreal: 2009?

[Marchetti]

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5g3hQiww2rBPoufizW72oN1NWp9hA

Thoughts?

[Black Tide]

it would be sweet to have another team in the league that was not financial dead weight.

[The_Drizzle]

Not happening.

[denver_mugwamp]

It's been widely reported that Toronto has exclusive MLS rights in Canada until 2010. Not to mention the fact that the teams have already been awarded for 2009 and 2010. But you Montreal folks can always dream...

[Hierarchyfive]

Umm yeah. There are a TON of hurdles to this. They currently give large portions of their tickets away as they are a charity. Their stadium while beautiful is not MLS standards. I would say 2010 or 11 if it were to happen.

[SterNYork]

Their stadium while beautiful is not MLS standards.

It's not 60,000 seats with gridiron lines? Or it's not in the suburbs with a stage?

[SideshowBob]

It's been widely reported that Toronto has exclusive MLS rights in Canada until 2010. Not to mention the fact that the teams have already been awarded for 2009 and 2010. But you Montreal folks can always dream...

There's no way Montreal would join for 2009 -- it's too late in the game for that to be initiated. But I could definately see them joining in 2011. At this point, I think a partner for Philly in 2010 is not likely, though if there is one I'd imagine it would have to be St. Louis.

[Hierarchyfive]

It's not 60,000 seats with gridiron lines? Or it's not in the suburbs with a stage?

Rep. No i meant it is not big enough, and lacking in the proper amount of luxury suits, amenities, and other money making necessities for a MLS venue.

[ButlerBob]

In another thread, it quotes Garber from the DC United kick off lunch yesterday. He talks about the expansion of 17 & 18 is on hold until they come up with a new expansion plan. So, could Montreal get an expansion team, sure. Will happen next year, not very likely. Probably the earliest it could happen would be 2011 or 2012. I think it's very unlikely that they would expand by 3 teams in 2010.




http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=673646

[mikey99]

Just based on how much it would piss off infamous canadian hater Bill Archer, is there no way we can move this forward....?

[Zoidberg]

Can't wait until someone throws out that 12,500 attendance number as why they "deserve":D:rolleyes: a team.

Learn about that number first.

I was there with three friends last year on buisness. We wanted ot buy tix and were told not to bother. We showed up and were handed 4 tix outside the stadium.

Comps, stupifyingly low tix prices (when bought), youth teams/players in for free make this number very misleading.

Very misleading. Great fun but what happens when they all gotta, you know, pay...and quite a bit.

[SideshowBob]

Of course, Toronto had pretty bad attendance with the Lynx, so I don't think that using USL attendance as a gauge for MLS interest has much value. I agree that pointing out the Impact's attendance numbers as "proof" of good potential is somewhat specious.

That said, the fact that a large number of folks show up for the Impact -- even if motivated by cheap/free tickets -- is still a positive sign that indicates that people are, at the very least, willing to devote 2 hours of their life to going to a soccer game. Even if it's a minor point, it's still something positive in favor of Montreal.

Anyhow, my thought is that the next announced expansion teams will be for 2012 and almost certainly incluse St. Louis and then include a second team (with Miami and Montreal being front runners at this moment and NYC-2/Atlanta/Portland being in the mix). That said, these things are subject to rapid change and who knows what the future will hold.

[RedBulls225]

Rep. No i meant it is not big enough, and lacking in the proper amount of luxury suits, amenities, and other money making necessities for a MLS venue.
Which is why they are planning on spending $12 million dollars to upgrade the stadium.

[RedBulls225]

By the way, how do you give people rep?

[DoctorK]

This would be great.

[bianconeri10]

Which is why they are planning on spending $12 million dollars to upgrade the stadium.

yup gillette and saputo were going to split that cost plus split the 30 million$ expansion cost

[Nerroth]

As far as TFC's exclusivity agreement goes, the TSN article (http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/news_story/?ID=232884&hubname=) has an interesting line or two:

"One year is already gone, the second year is about to start, and I think by time this works its way through the process, this will be irrelevant," said Tom Anselmi, vice-president and chief operating officer of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., which owns Toronto FC. Anselmi said Toronto FC would welcome another Canadian team in the MLS.
"We support it, we know there's interest there, we support more Canadian teams, it's good for the rivalry, good for the league and good for us," Anselmi said.
The Toronto franchise was an MLS success story in its inaugural season, at least at the turnstiles. Toronto averaged more than 20,000 fans a game for the third highest attendance in the league, and has already sold 18,000 seasons tickets for the upcoming season.


I would not be surprised at all that MLSE would cash in that third year if the bid looked like it was going to work.

[Ismitje]

So, about that really neat and comprehensive MLS Expansion Forum . . . :)

[Stan Collins]

As far as TFC's exclusivity agreement goes, the TSN article (http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/news_story/?ID=232884&hubname=) has an interesting line or two:



I would not be surprised at all that MLSE would cash in that third year if the bid looked like it was going to work. I wouldn't either, I'm just kinda wondering why Montreal would be so impatient, when coming into the league in 2010 would allow them more time to prepare anyway.

[Daniel from Montréal]

Regarding tickets, comping and prices, the USL is not indicative of anything beyond there being interest for soccer.

According to an article on Cyberpresse:

Average ticket: $28
Corporate suite: $40k a year
8 types of season tickets
Most expensive seasons: $2,500
Cheapest seasons (end): $200
Most season under $800

The fact that such precise numbers are getting thrown around makes me believe that this is a pretty thorough plan and that the Impact are closer to MLS than most posters would think.

This is Montreal telling MLS: "Here's the cash, here's the stadium (with upgrades), here's the serious owners, here are the players. When can we start?".