The other owner of the Crew is a local real estate mogul who has land for a stadium lined up. At least that’s what’s been reported
At which point, the owners, who bought into MLS, not the Canadian league, tell the CSA to pound sand. If the CSA ever did try to flex that "muscle" (ha ha), the owners could just sell their teams back to MLS and let MLS find cities in the U.S. where they could play. If the owners don't WANT to be a part of the Canadian league, they won't BE part of the Canadian league. The CSA could then start from scratch in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, but they won't get the existing teams. The CSA has as much authority to direct MLS teams into the Canadian league as they do to direct them to a men's room.
Well Montreal is having money problems. They are losing, 12M a year since joining MLS. The owner said he can't keep losing money like this and give himself 2 years to fix it. Local journalists also came to the conclusion that the team will be in danger if they don't fix it. You see, the CSA might not even have to do anything in the end. -L'Impact désire aussi être plus visible au centre-ville de MTL. Peut-être y installer un point de vente.-L'Impact se donne 2 ans pour mobiliser le Qc inc et les partisans pour atteindre la rentabilité.— Jeremy Filosa 🎙 (@JeremyFilosa) October 12, 2018 Also, the CSA did flex that "muscle" and MLS caved to the threat of desanction of the 3 clubs. I believe the Homegrown program for Canadian was the result of Montagliani's threat. The 3 clubs would never relocate in the US and leave those markets wide open to CPL. MLSE nor Saputo would never sell. It's not knowing the reality here that's leading you to assume that
That's a different story. If the individual teams think their existence is better served playing in the Canadian league than MLS, and they want to make that transition themselves, that's a completely different ballgame. But CSA can't just tell them "You're playing in Canada now." Although, if Montreal did decide to kiss MLS goodbye, MLS would have something to say about it as well. MLS owners own rights to operate clubs in the league, and those rights have value. How things get settled would be intriguing.
Rumor has it that the Browns' owner is considering building a joint Browns/Crew training center closer to Columbus than Cleveland. In terms of attendances and historical performance I think the Crew could be considered a success. I'm sure they could fill a modern 18k-20k covered stadium on a regular basis. And MLS continues it's record of not relocating a team on a permanent basis.
Absolutely would need pro/rel. Too many teams, and it wouldn't be right to shut second-division teams in Mexico out.
The CSA already said they aren't forcing anyone, same from the CPL president. Do they have the power? Yes. Will they use it? Unlikely. I think the league pulls a Columbus on us before the teams express the will to leave. The CPL scenario is only if the league grows to the point it makes financial sense to them, never before then
Losing $12 million a year for a team that on averages more than 20,000 ticket sales per match and, until this season, spent less than $7 million a year on player salaries implies smacks of carelessness. It's interesting that this is coming out during CBA talks. I wonder how much Bologna is losing. Montreal Impact Fans av. - 18,499 Payroll av < $12 million FC Bologna (2017/18) Fans - 21,122 Payroll $107 million Of course a big difference in finances is that Bologna get a cut of $1.3 billion of TV money while the TSN contract is probably tiny.
I don't think the powers that be in Liga MX give a crap about second division teams. But if you did create a super league then you'd need pro/rel because some of the larger Mexican teams could be shut out. You also have the weather problem of course. Too hot in Mexico to play soccer in the summer and too cold to play soccer in the Midwest and Northeast in the winter. Anyway it's all hypothetical nonsense on my part.
The owners of the three Canadian MLS teams can’t unilaterally decide to leave the league and join a Canadian league. Regardless of what the Canadian federation declares, it can’t force MLS to do anything. All it can do is prevent the Canadian teams from playing in Canada. The most likely scenario in such a case would be the three teams relocating or being sold to American owners. After that, endless lawsuits for things like contract interference. Good job Canadian soccer federation, you just drove the three best Canadian teams out of the country and guaranteed yourself millions of dollars in wasted legal fees. If it ever came to such a scenario, I’d expect MLS and its Canadian owners to play hardball with whatever Canadian doofus decided to mess with their business.
Yes I think Saputo and Rogers can probably afford better lawyers than the CSA. Presumably the CSA agreed to Canadian clubs joining an American based league in the first place. Was there a time constraint or was it an indefinite agreement? We're way off-topic but who cares?
Montreal doesn’t have a money problem.. they have a tax and revenue “problem”. This came up because Saputo is trying to get the city to waive $2 million/year he pays in property taxes for Stade Saputo and their training grounds, both of which are on public land. He says he will spend another $50 million on Stade Saputo to add a large number of premium seatting and amenities.. Montreal also has one of the lower ticket prices in the league. League average is $45 Canadian, and the Impact’s average is $32 Canadian.. They also have one of the highest group sales rates. Basically, Montreal needs to charge more for their tickets, sell more season tickets and single game tickets, and sell less group tickets. It would also be helpful if they increased sponsorships and other revenue streams..
You've seen all their legal documents? Please share It can ban MLS from Canada and unsanction the 3 clubs from playing in the US. So black and white... the truth is way more likely to be gray.... like an opt out clause. The 3 clubs being in MLS is an exception under FIFA which stipulate that ALL parties must agree...CSA happens to be one of said party. You're seeing the 3 clubs like they are the same as all the others... they aren't It won't come to that. The CSA and CPL already said that they won't force anything. They prefer growing to the point it makes financial sense for them to join. Technically, there's hardly anything that could be done if the sanction is removed but it won't happen that way
The CSA sanction is renewed on a yearly basis. Under FIFA convention, all parties must agree to this exception allowing a cross border league scenario. Since the 3 clubs are Canadian based, the CSA holds the cards. To your arguments, the same way the CSA agreed to this deal, both the MLS and the clubs agreed that this arrangement was conditional to the CSA sanction on a yearly basis. It goes both ways...that's why, the legal argument hardly holds here. Suing the CSA is suing FIFA as the Association is enforcing FIFA rules.
The city will never cave to Montreal tax demands, they wouldn't do it for the Habs, so no way they do it for Saputo. Yes, the league pressured them to increase the prices but some fans aren't happy about the announce increases... not sure it will translate to higher revenues if less people goes to the games.
For those who thinks that Saputo losing money doesn't excludes TV rights and SUM from the equation, the same journalist answered the question Oui— Jeremy Filosa 🎙 (@JeremyFilosa) October 13, 2018 Saputo is bleeding money even with SUM and TV rights revenues
Pro sports teams losing money? You don't say? Saputo would likely break even if he wasn't going out and spending extra cash on high priced players. Rene Garde likely isn't being paid a paupers salary either............ What exactly did he do with the money from the Tabla sale? I wonder if he breaks even on Bologna? This is much ado about nothing. Saputo's shares on SUM more then make up for those minor operating losses.
I just posted a French tweet where the journalist confirms that even with SUM and TV rights taken into accounts, he's still bleeding money. He said he can't go on like this long term and gives himself 2 years to turn it around. It's serious. He revealed that he sold Tabla for around $1M I think he cares more about Bologna and just isn't willing to lose money in MLS. With the prices that went up after MLS pressured the club to increase the prices of tickets, he's unlikely to attract more fans if he doesn't spend to get a marquee player. His situation isn't good at all
They appointed a manager who was a complete failure at his last employer, doubled their payroll without signing a recognised "name" that fans and sponsors could get excited about, and lost Ciman to LAFC. Yeah, the MLS business model is the problem.
Oh, I never said the problem was MLS business model. If anything, some of it is quite clever. SUM was such a good idea that the Canadian Premier League took the idea and created CSB (Canadian Soccer Business) Personally, I think MLS in Canada doesn't work in the sense that imitating the logic of NHL, NBA, MLB and even the NFL is what's not working here. Fans outside the 3 cities just doesn't buy into the league. I doubt that Montreal and Vancouver can keep up with the rapid growth of the league, while having stagnant fanbase growth. TFC is better equipped to keep up in terms of resources but CPL complicates things for them now. Unless they figure out a way to get more fans to buy into MLS, the worse might come
If you believe an owner of a professional sports team when he pleads poverty, you’re so naive it’s painful. No, I get it. You don’t like the fact that there are Canadian soccer fans who like seeing their teams play in MLS. For some reason, that offends you and you want them to be forced to enjoy soccer “the right way.”
So the owner, analyst and journalists are all wrong but your hunch is right. Garber coming to Montreal and lecturing the fans, the city and voicing his worries towards Montreal is a figment of our collective imagination...Sure
You want the MLS teams in Canada to be a failure, so you’re willing to buy into any narratives that support your preconceptions. Your contempt for their fans practically drips off the screen.
I wasn't aware you were psychic. You could ask questions instead of making assumptions. You think I want the club I grew up with and adored for years, which happens to predate MLS to fail, fold and close shop? To each's own.
I’ve seen your posts in this and other threads. You’ve made your beliefs pretty clear. Stop trying to hide behind typical Canadian self-righteousness.